k 



FIFTY YEARS ON THE iSSISSIPPI: 



OR, 



GOULB'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



CONTAINING A HISTOHY OF THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM AS A PROPELLING 
POWER ON OCEAN, LAKES AND RIVERS — THE FIRST STEAMBOATS ON THE 
HUDSON, THE DELAWARE, AND THE OHIO RIVERS — NAVIGATION OF 
WESTERN RIVERS BEFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM — CHAR- 
ACTER OF THE EARLY NAVIGATORS — DESCRIPTION OF FIRST 
STEAMBOATS— STEAMBOAT NEW ORLEANS IN 1811, AND SIXTY 
CONSECUTIVE BOATS, WHEN AND WHERE BUILT — THEIR 
EFFECT UPON THE SETTLEMENT OF THE VALLEY OF 
THE MISSISSIPPI— CHARACTER AND SPEED OF 
BOATS AT DIFFERENT PERIODS — APPROPRIA- 
TIONS BY CONGRESS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT 
OF WESTERN WATER WAYS — FLOODS 
IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY FOR 160 
YEARS — MISSISSIPPI RIVER COM- 
MISSION AND ITS WORK. 

RapU Increase and Decline of RiYcr Transportation. 

CAUSES OF THE DECLINE— DESTRUCTION OF STEAMBOATS ON WESTERU 

WATERS — BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT STEAMBOATMEN — 

ILLUSTRATED BY PHOTOGRAPHS AND CUTS OF 

STEAMBOATS AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. 



By K . W . a O U L D 



750 PAGES. ELEGANTLY BOUND. 



JUL 151889, 



SAINT LOUIS: 
NIXON-JONES PRINTING CO. 

1889. 



A 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 188Vt, liy 

E. W. GOULD, 
In the otMcc of the Librarian of Congress, at Wasliington. 



T 



DEDICATION 



O THE MEMORY 



OK riU)SK, WHO. 

AFTER STRUGGLING FOR YEARS TO OVERCOME 
THE EMBARRASSMENTS AND DANGERS INCIDENT 
IN THE LIFE OF A BOATMAN, HAVE BEEN 
WRECKED ON THE SHOALS OF TIME, AND 
WAFTED INTO A HAVEN OF REST ON THE 
SHORES OF THE BEAUTIFUL RIVER, WHERE 
THEY AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF THEIR FRIENDS 
AND COTEMPORARIES, WHO ARE STILL CON- 
TENDING WITH THE ADVERSITIES OF THIS LIFE 

before crossing the river that ferries 
but one way, this work is dedicated. 

The Author. 



(iii) 



PREFACE 



In compiling the following pages, the author is largely 
indebted to individual friends, newspapers, periodicals and 
historical works. 

Notably J. W. Barker, H. H. Devinney, D. F. Barker, of 
Cincinnati; J. W. Bryant, of New Orleans Times- Democrat ; 
James Kerr, New Orleans Daily States; Austin R. Moore, 
Thomas H. Griffith, Joseph LaBarge, of St. Louis ; Missouri 
Gazette, 1808, its successors, Missouri Republican and the St. 
Louis Republic; Louisiana Gazette, 1812 ; Memphis Ava- 
lanche; Louisville Courier- Journal; Cincinnati Commercial- 
Gazette; Cincinnati Enquirer; Pittsburgh Dispatch; Hall's 
West; Internal Commerce of the United States, by Wm. F. 
Switzler ; Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi; Commodore 
Preble's History of Steam Navigation; Floyd's Steamboat 
Directory ; St. Louis iScrap-Book ; Sharf's History of St. 
Louis; Niles' Register ; Potter's American Monthly ; Columbia 
Magazine, and libraries in Washington, New York, Cincinnati, 
and St. Louis — also to Mr. T. Kytka, the artist who has 
furnished the illustrations, among which will be seen some fine 

pe7i, and ink sketches from portraits. 

Cv) 



I N E) K X 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGES. 
Introductory roinarks 1 

CHAPTER II. 

The various modes of early river navigation — Broadliorns on the Ohio — 
Time of keel-boats and barges from New Orleans to Falls of the Ohio — Pirogues 
on the Missouri — Lead mines at Galena opened — Steamboat Virginia the first 
to ascend the Upper Mississippi — First use of steamboats in towing keel- 
boats — Robert tulton not the inventor of steamboats — John Fitch on the 
Delawareriver — Barnwell R. Grant — First vessel ever moved by steam — Fitch's 
second steamboat — His description — Her |)erformance — Sixth steamboat by 
Samuel Moroy — A screw iiropellcr — Eleven steamboats previous to 1807 2-6 

CHAPTER III. 

Robert Fulton builds the twelfth boat — Clermont on the Hudson River — 
Fnlton's skill — Clermont rebuilt — Her trip to Albany — Cut of the Clermont — 
First steamboat race — Car of Commerce — Fulton's second boat — Other boats 
for Long Island Sound and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers by Fulton 7-10 

CHAPTER IV. 

Missouri Gazette, 180S — Trip of steamboat from New York to Albany — Ful- 
ton's letters to the " American Citisen" to his friend Joel Barlow — Account of 
his steamboat trip to Albany — Effect on the natives in seeing the Clermont the 
first time — Fulton's death in 1815 — Steamboat in Spain in 1543 — Watt. Fitch, 
Evans, Stephens, Morey, Rumsey and others antedate Fulton 11-15 

CHAPTER V. 

John Fitch an American — His patent — Fulton's first experimental boat at 
Paris, France — Fitch's explanation of his machinery — His visit to France — 
Failure of his boats and his hopes — His death and burial — James Rumsey's 
boat on the Potomac — Second steamboat in the world — John Fitch's will and 
grave 15-20 

CHAPTER VI. 

Robert Fulton — His father a native of Ireland— His place of nativity — His 
genius as an artist — His visit to England in 1793 — His residence in France — 
His experiments on the Seine — Bonaparte entertains his proposition to con- 
struct torpedo boats — His return to America — His first patent— Fulton and 
Livingston's exclusive right to navigate steam vessels — Injunction of the 
Supreme Court — First steam ferry-boats — Floating batteries — Pulton the first 
engineer — Samuel J. Morey's steamboat on the Delaware 21-27 

CHAPTER VII. 

Discovery of the Upper Mississippi — Father Hennepin in 1C80 — His voyage 
from Canada — His descent down the Illinois River — Indian name for Missis- 
sippi — The river described — Buccaneers infest the mouths of rivers — Cotton- 
wood Creek and Grand Tower general rendezvous — Beausoliel, the merchant, 
and the freebooters — Barge transportation on the Mississippi and Ohio — First 
mall route across the AUeghanys 28-31 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Mail-boats on the Ohio River — Indians attack mail-boats — Description of 
fight 32-38 

(vii) 



Vlll INDEX. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PAGES. 

First vessel to enter the Mississippi from tlie sea — M. rt'Iberville's arrival at 
Natchez — His return to Biloxi — First fort on the Mississippi — The English 
Tnrn — La Salle at Bayou Goulas in 16:^5 — First boat built on the Mississippi in 
1541 — Death of L)e Suto, 154-2 — William Longstreet antedates Robert Fulton 
seven years on the Savannah River — St. Paul's ship — Gath in the " Cincinnati 
Enquirer" — Noah's ark — Egyptian mode of transport ing grain — Phoenician 
galleys — River Nile and its canals — 700,000 boatmen employed — Lighthouse on 
the Nile — Egyptian sailing vessels 420 feet long — '280 years B. 0. steam used at 
Alexandria — A. D. 540 steam apparatus constructed — Application of steam at 
different periods — Different inventors — First steam vessel across the Atlantic. 39^1 

CHAPTER X. 

Ohio River— Col. Plug — Mike Fink, and others — Ben. Cassaday's history of 
Louisville — Barge men, their occupation — Audubon, the celebrated orni- 
thologist 41-44 

CHAPTER XI. 

The boat-wreckers on the Ohio — Col. Fluger, of New Hampshire, known as 
Col. Plug — A famous freebooter — A duel — Many flat-boats robbed and boat- 
men killed — Headquarters mouth of Cash — Col. Plug's death — Mike Fink, the 
famous outlaw — Indian spy — Became a flat-boatman and a terror to all — His 
habits and peculiarities 45-50 

CHAPTER XII. 

Another story of Mike — His adventure with Carpenter and Tolbert in 1822 — 
Joins Henry and Ashley's company of Missouri trappers — Trip to the Yellow- 
stone — Mike and Carpenter's quarrel — Carpenter killed by Mike — Mike killed 
by Tolbert — Mike's account of himself. . . 50-52 

CHAPTER Xlir. 

Boatmen described — Early navigators — First keel-boat on the Missouri- 
Kentucky flat-boats — Trial at Pittsburgh for sinking one yellow-bellied catfish... 53-.56 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Danger to early boatmen from Indians and pirates — Crow's Nest, or Stock 
Island, a notorious resort — Many flat-boats and their crews sacrificed there — 
Their extermination in 1809 by mob law 57-59 

CHAPTER XV. 

Annual exports from the Mississippi in 1802 — Advertisements of that date — 
Bill of lading from Kaskaskia in 1741 — Advertisements in Missouri Gazette in 
1809 60-61 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Hall's West — Published at Cincinnati in 1848 —Bark canoes — From the Gulf 
of Mexico to Falls of St. Anthony — Washington's first view of the Ohio — Indian 
attacks on early settlers, encouraged by British influence — Effect of steam navi- 
gation — Steamboat Washington —Trip to New Orleans and return in 45 days 62-67 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Commerce in 1812 — Carried on 20 barges from Cincinnati to New Orleans and 
150 keel-boats to Pittsburgh — Caravans from St. Louis to Santa Fe— Banking 
capital in the West — The name of Fulton to be cherished as Washington's —In 
1776, Gibson and Linn — Trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans and return for mil- 
itary stores — Introduction of flat-boats — McKenney's tour to the lakes— The 
bark canoe and the manner of its construction 67-76 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

First passenger boats from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh —Time and regulations- 
Bill in Congress for transportation of mails on horseback from the East to the 
West- James Rumsey's steamboat in 1782 — Anecdote of Robert Fulton 77-81 






INDEX. IX 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PAGES. 

The " Navigator" published in Pittsburgh in 1811 — Roosevelt, Fulton and Liv- 
ingston at Pittsburgh — Trip of the New Orleans described by Latrobe, a passen- 
ger a part of the way — The New Madrid earthquake— Mrs . Roosevelt's description 
of the closing days of that memorable trip 81-89 

CHAPTER XX, 

Letters to Gales & Seaton of the National Intelligencer in 1814— Steamboat 
Vesuvius, leaves Pittsburgh, one hour and thirty seconds going to Middletown.. 89-9'2 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Steamboat Buffalo launched — Steamboats Enterprise and Vesuvius — Time 
from Pittsburgh — First tow-boat — Turnpike from Cumberland —Earl of Liver- 
pool — Freight from New Orleans — Arrival of the Enterprist at Brownsville 93-94 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Falls' pilot— McMurlry sketches of Louisville — Increase of commerce — 
Capt. Shreve — Cut of the Washington — Suit by Fulton and Livingston against 
Shreve 95-98 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Expense of steamer New Orleans— Annual profits — Value of the boat— First 
sea vessel — Henry Clay speech in Congress — No such place as Pittsburgh— New 
Orleans launched — Her voyage to New Orleans — Her destruction in 1814 98-100 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

"Comet," second steamboat — Vesuvius, third boat— Capt. .John DcHart — 
The Enterprise, fourth boat — Zebulon M. Pike, sixth boat — The first to arrive at 
St. Louis — The Gnce«e's notice of the arrival — Her tonnage 36 tons measure- 
ment— Tenth boat, Washington, Capt. H. M. Shreve, 400 tons measurement- 
Two-decker- General Pike, thirty-lifthboat and first passenger boat— Indepen- 
dence first boat to ascend Missouri river— Western Engineer — Trip to the 
Yellowstone, 1819 — Major Long and corps of Government officers — Steamboats 
from one to sixty inclusive -Numerous histories 101-110 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Notice of death of Capt. Shreve —His engagement at battle of New Orleans — 
Steamboat Franklin from New Orleans, thirty -two days, in 1818— List of boats in 
that trade — 3/isso«ri (7a,re«c — Maid of Orleans at St. Louis from Philadelr>hia, 
1819 — First steam vessel at New Orleans from sea — Arrival of the Franklin at 
Boonslick — Log book of the steamer St. Louis from New Orleans, twenty-eight 
days— The Virginia at Fort Snelling, 1823 —First excursion trip at St. Louis. . . 111-116 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

"Hall's West," published at Cincinnati 1848 — Cost of steamboats— Duration — 
Expense of navigating them in 1829 — Number of boats in various trades— Cost 
of transportation from the East to Pittsburgh — List of casualties from 1831 to 
1833 — Imposition practiced upon travelers— Burning boats — Cost and tonnage 
of flat-boats in 1832 — More people killed by lightning than by steam — Loss on 
Ohio and Mississippi by snags from 1822 to 1827, $1,362,500 117-125 

ICHAPTER XXVII. 

Cost of wagon -load of dry goods — Number of steamboats in 1842 — Valuation — 
Employes — Number of steamboats in 1834 — Luxury of steamboat traveling — Two 
millions of passengers per annum — Comments of New York Courier and 
Ew^wirer— St. Louis settled in 1763 — Pierre Chouteau and other Frenchmen 
trading with Indians — First keel-boats on the Mississippi, 1751 — French 
Marines at Fort Chartres — Tonnage at St. Louis in 1844-1845-1846 — Daily arrivals 
of steamboats ., 126-133 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Fulton's war steamer Demologus — Capt. David Porter — Dimensions of 
first war steamer — Three hundred cutlasses — Laid up at the navy yard in 
Brooklyn — .Afterwards exploded 134-137 



INDEX. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

FAQB8. 

Reminiscences of Manuel White — Keel-boating in 1800 — Population of New 
Orleans — The Natchez Trace — Early steamboat history — Capt. John De 
Hart — Steamer Vesuvius — $900 per day claimed — Congress awarded Fulton 
$76,000 — Lafltte, the pirate — Louisiana Gazette, iSH — Gov. Claiborn — Lafltte's 
fleet destroyed — His escape — Wharf register at New Orleans — Arrival of steam - 
boats from 1812 137-141 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Embargo on navigation — Second embargo — Steamboat enterprise, 1814 — Capt. 
Shreve gives bond— Constitution seized — Arrival of steamboat Washington — 
Third attempt to place embargo on the Mississippi — Memminger — Secretary of 
Confederate treasury — Custom House at Norfolk, on the Mississippi — Require- 
ments of the officer — Contraband goods — Clearances — A case in point — Steamer 
Empress at Fort Wright — Confiscation of Chicago sugar 142-148 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Walt and Bolton — Low-pressure engines — Boats built at Brownsville — 
Washington built by Capt. Shreve — First steamboat — Louisiana Gazette, ISIO — 
Oliver Evans on the steam engine — His description — His prediction in 1794 149-152 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Steamer Western Engineer — Consternation of the Indians — Hamlet's speech — 
Longest steamboat on the Mississippi— Her arrival at St. Louis in 1841 — A mam- 
moth steamboat — Steamboat United States — liuilt 1819 — Watt and Bolton's 
low-pressure engine — Steamboat enterprise, 1814 — Pressed into service by 
Gen. Jackson — Livingston and Fulton exclusive navigation to the Missis- 
sippi River — The Enterprise, a remarkable boat — Built by Capt. Shreve, 1817 — 
500 barges — 1500 flat-boats — Steamboatarrivals at New Orleans in 1821 — Receipts 
of cotton, sugar and tobacco — Population of the city in 1822 — Building Fort 
St. Philip in 1700 — Second steambDat New Orleans — Steamer Vesuvius 
burned at Natchez — Walking 1,000 miles on the Natchez tracj — Aaron Burr's 
expedition in 1807 — Arrest of Col. Burr — Vessels of war anchored otf Natchez — 
N ew Madrid Earthquake 153-161 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Floyd's Steamboat Directory — Western rivers — Earliest account of naviga- 
tion—Father Joliet, a Jesuitambassador — 300 years ago — Ferdinando De Sotj— 
The first discoverer— First vessel built — Purchase of Louisiana — Fulton & 
Livingston's ship-yard at Pittsburgh — The second steamboat— Capt. Shreve's 
steamboat Washington- First flue boilers by Capt. Shreve — W^ashiugton arrives 
at Louisville — Public dinner to Capt. Shreve — Trip from New Orleans to 
Louisville— AVashington attached at New Orleans — Hartupee & Wolt — Evan's 
safety valve — Mrs Koosevelt — First trip to New Orleans — Louisville canal 
opened — Steam engines, 1812 to 182(5- New Orleans 'Times -Bemoci-at — Capt. Jos. 
Swagar — Enterprise ascending the Falls, by cordell 1814 — Opposing the canal 
by citizens— Str. Manhattan from New York — Capt. Benedict and tlie Diana, 
1830 — Growth and exportation of cotton — Bienville and cotton in jNlississippi, 
1735 — Cotton-seed oil in 1799— Cotton gins in 1796at Natchez — Cotton-seed from 
Jamaica — Dr. Rusk Nutt 162-176 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Kramer's navigator, 1812 — 22 children, one mother — 28 children, one 
father— Earl of Hillsborough, 1770 — His predictions— Six epochs — French and 
Spanish Dominion — Buffaloes at Baton Rouge in 1699 — Settlement of Lower 
Louisiana — First shipment on the Mississippi— Profitable adventure in skins 
and furs- 1705 — The French Western Co., under Crozat— Exportations — 
pjxports from New Orleans, 1795 — 20,000 volunteers to open the Mississippi — 
Petition from Kentucky to Congress, 1798 — President Jefferson settled the 
question by the purchase of Louisiana — Products of Louisiana, 1801-1S02 — 
Trade of the Mississippi — Freight passing Falls of Ohio, 1810 and 1811 176-195 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

Steamboat New Orleans- Her cost — Expense of running— The Washington 
left New Orleans 1816 — The Vesuvius at battle of New Orleans — Fourth boat 
Enterprise — River traffic in 1814 196-200 



/ 



INDEX. XI 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

PAGES. 

Emigration to Mississippi Vailey — Receipts of product- at New Orleans, 1816 — 
Increase of receipts in 16 years — Steamboat building — The first boat lost — 
Number of flat-boats — Use of pirogues — Arrivals at New Orleans, 1825 — Capt. 
Shreve and the snag-boats— Trade in New Orleans from 1813 to 1841 — Steamboat 
disasters — Rapid growth of New Orleans — Shipment of cotton — The flush time 
in river commerce — Boats in different trades in the South 20^-223 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

How levees arc built — Elfe<;t of floods — Crevasses — Condition of levees — 
Cost of levees 133-229 

CHAPTER XXXVIIl. 

First steamboat company in New Orleans — First steamboat excursion from 
New Orleans — Steamer New Orleans' first trip to Natchez — First steamboats to 
Baton Rouge and Bayou Sara — New Orleans and Vlcksburg packets — Natchez 
and New Orleans — Packets in all Southern trades — Early navigation in Red 
River — Source of Red River — French expedition to Red River in 1714 230-23S 

CHAI'TER XXXIX. 

Old-time steamboats— Hattiirc aside for steamboat landing — Number of ar- 
rivals at New Orleans from 1812 to 1823 —Names of boats — Note from old-timer 239-241 

CHAPTER XL. 

Oliver Evans — Steam coaches — First steam engine built in the West — First 
engine shop — William French built first high-pressure engine — Snag boats — 
Capt. Shreve and the Ued river raft —Cost .f311,000 to remove 241-244 

CHAPTER XI.I. 

Floods on Ibe Mississipin and Ohio — First record in 1724— Fort Cliartres de- 
stroyed in 1777 — Highest water in the American bottom — High water years — 
Flood of 1881 — High water on the Upper Mississipjii- Efl'ects of the floods — 
Flood of 1844 and suc'ceeding years — Losses from overflow — Flood of 1884 — Cost 
of high water— High water In the Ohio river— Water ten feet deep in New 
Orleans 245-267 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Murrel and his gang —Detailed account of their operations — Stealing negroes 
and selling them at different times — Mason, the celebrated highwayman — His 
band the terror of every trader in 1802 — p,000 reward offered for his capture — 
Killed by his own men 268-27 

CHAFTEII XLIII. 

Tragic events in Ohio and Kentucky — Daniel Boone and Simou Kenton — 
Boone's first trip to Kentucky — Boone's return to North Carolina — Simon Ken- 
ton, alias Butler, captured by the Indians — Released by Girty, the desperado 275-279 

CHAPTER XLI^^ 

Navigation of the Arkansas — Steamboat Buzzard — Steamboat Eagle — Chero- 
kee missionary established in 1822 280-281 

CHAPTER XLV. 

First steamboat to ascend the Alleghany in 1830 — Reached Olean, 400 miles 
from Pittsburgh — Time employed in making the trip — First mail route over the 
Alleghanies — Time from Washington l,o Wheeling — Stage traveling on the 
national road — Pennsylvania canal opened. 282-284 



XI] INDKX. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

PA.6BS. 

De Soto, La Salle and Crozat in 1712 — Colossal stock company known as the 
Mississippi bubble — France crowded out of the Mississippi Valley in 17B3 — 
Regained by Napoleon I. — Dissatisfaction of Americans with French rule — Jef- 
ferson's purchase of the country — Rapid settlement of the valley — Inii)rovement 
of \\'estern waters — Decline of river commerce — Navigation between St. Louis 
and Cairo — River apjtropriations in 1870— Letter from E. \V. Gould— The 
jetties — Memphis Avalanche — .1 . B. PJads — Rivers and harbors — Senators Vest 
and Plumb on Missouri River Commission — ICtfect of deepening the waters 
between Cairo and St. Louis — Improvement of .Missouri river — Eight millions 
required — How to expend $800,000 285-308 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

First river improvement, 1699, by Bienville —The French attempted it in 1726 — 
The Spanish cleared the Bayou Manchac and (.a Fourche — Capt. Shreve and the 
cut-offs — Shifting of the channel at the Passes— Different plans proposed — 
Eads's plan adopted — Contract with the Government — Description of the work 
done —Expenditures at the Passes from 1829 to 1781 — Expenditure each year on 
harbors in the valley — Missi8si))pi River Commission — Improvements by the 
State of Louisiana — Work by the State Board — Swamp lands donated —Money 
exi)ended different years — Anew policy adopted — Appropriations by the Span- 
ish and French governments — Commercial value of the river — Mr. Edmunde,of 
the Senate, on the Pacific Railroad — River and harbor expenditure from 1865 to 
1882, for each State — Cut-off's from old-timer — 19 cut-offs since Red river cut-off 
in 1831 309-339 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 

Improvements on the Upper Mississippi — First bridge at Rock Island; 1856 — 
Eiglit millions expended by the (iovernment up to 1889 — The writer's experience 
in 1838 from Fort Snelling in canoe 340-344 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

Improvement of the Ohio River — Report of Col. W. Milner Roberts, Civil En- 
gineer, 1870 — Various plans considered — A combination recommended 345-318 

CHAPTER L. 

The steam whistle — The calliope — Spalding & Rogers floating palace — l^'irst 
electric light at New Orleans on a steamer — The first steam freight hoister — 
First marine hospital tax 350-352 

CHAPTER LI. 

Burning of the Martha Washington — Trial of Capt. Cuinmings and others — 
History of Capt. .John Cummings and Kassine 353-355 

CHAPTER LII. 

Iron steam vessels — Where and when built — Iron boat yards — Licensed offi- 
cers — $500 fine for carrying passengers and freight without license 355-361 

CHAPTER LIII. 

Tornado at Natchez, 1810 — Accounts in Floyd's Steamboat Directory— Steamboat 
Maid of Orleans — Steamboat Prairie partially wrecked — Steamer Hinds cap- 
sized, fifty-one dead bodies — Storm at New Orleans in 1888 — 175 loaded coal 
boats sunk — Cholera at St. Louis- Great steamboat fire in 1849 — Fifteen blocks 
of houses burned, twenty-three steamboats burned — Loss $10,000,000.. 361-366 

f^CHAPTER LIV. 

Letter from Capt. D. F. Barker — His recollections of early steamboats on 
the Ohio — Ohio River steamboat organizations — Cincinnati and Louisville mail 
line — F''irst boats built at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh and Cincinnati packet com- 
panies —Keel-boats — Capt. Samuel Mason — Pat, are you here?— Interesting 
letter from J. H. Barker — Steamboats and masters since 1830 — Letter from Capt. 
Henry H. Devinney — Present steamboat companies at Cincinnati ■. 367-383 



INDEX. Xlll 



CHAPTER LV. 

PAGES. 

St. Louis and New Orleans Packet Company — Railroad line — St Louis and 
Tennessee — Arkansas — Red River — Ouachita Packet Companies — Atlantic and 
Mississippi steamsiiip company 383-389 

CHAPTER LVI. 

Memphis Steamboat Organizations —Old steamboat men — Stealing a steam- 
boat — The largest cargo of cotton — Steamboat John Simonds — Memphis and 
St. Louis Packet Company— St. Louis Anchor Line 390-404 

CHAPTER LVII. 

National Board of Steam Navigation — Its origin and purpose — The steamboat 
bill— Letter from E. \V. Gould — Its present status 405-415 

CHAPTER LVIII. 

Missouri River I'acket Company —Miami Packet Company — Omaha Packet 
Company— The Lightning Line —Mountain boats and trade — Father DeSmet — 
Shooting McKenzie — Death of Clark — His murdernr 416-42(» 

CHAPTER LIX. 

Second Yellovrstone expedition — Battle of Little Big Horn — Death of Gen. 
Custer 427-430 

CHAPTER LX. 

List of casualties — Dates and number of explosions for fifty years — Number 
of steamboats from 1811 to 1835 — Boats lost in the great ice gorge at St. Louis in 
1865-66— Losses by explosions from 1816 to 1871 431-43S 

CHAPTER LXI. 

Explosion of steamboat Washington in 1816 — Explosion of steamer Constitu- 
tion in 1817 — Sinking of steamer Tennessee in 1823 — Explosion of steamer 
Teche in 1825— Explosion of the Grampus, 1828 — Explosion of the Helen 
McGregor, 1830 — Exjlosion of Rob Roy, 1836 — Explosion of Ben Franklin at 
Mobile, 1S36 — Explosion of tlie Dubuque, 1837 — Explo^^ion of the Lioness on 
Red river, 1833 — Explosion of the Black Hawk, 1837 — Lxplosion of the Moselle 
at Cincinnati, 1838 — Burning of the Ben Sherrod, 1837 — Burning of the Brandy- 
wine, 1832— Explosion of Oronoco, 1838 439-457 

CHAPTER LXII. 

Burning of the Erie, 1841 — Collision of the steamboat Monmouth and the ship 
Tremont, 1837 — Sinking of the Shepherdess, 1844 — Explosion of the Anglo- 
Norman ... 458-464 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

Sinking of the John L. Avery, 1854 —Burning of the Orline St. John at Mobile, 
1850 — Explosion of the Clipper, 1843 — Explosion of the Louisiana, 1849 — Ex- 
plosion of the St. James, 1852 — Burning of the Georgia, ]a54 — Sinking of the 
steamboat Mechanic — Gen. Lafayette and suite on board — Sinking of the Belle 
Zane, 1845 — Explosion of the Glencoe, 1852 — Explosion of the Saluda, 1852 — 
Burning of the Bulletin No. Two, 1855 — Burning of three steamers at Mem- 
phis, 1855 — Burning of Martha Washington, 1852 465-482 

, CHAPTER LXIV. 

Western River Improvement and Wrecking Co. — Capt. James B. Eads . . .. 483-488 



XIV INDEX , 



CHAPTEE LXV. 

PAGES. 

Western river pilots — Mark Twain as a oiib pilot — His account of their im- 
portance 489^% 



CHAPTER LXVI. 

Pittsburgh coal trade, 1835 — Steamboat J. B. Williams — The largest tow of 
coal — Early development of coal — First use of coal in the West — Shipments 
of coal from Pittsburgh, 1869 — The cost of towing coal — The coal trade — The 
coke trade — Steamboats, tow-boats, Ijarges, flat-boats 497-508 

CHAPTER LXVII. 
Beacon lights on Western rivers — Cost of each light — Criticisms of a pilot. . 500-512 

CHAPTER LXVIII. 

Upper Mississippi Packet Companies — Keokuk Packet Co. — Boats engaged — 
Early boats and boatmen — Northern Line Packet Co. — Capt. William F. David- 
son — Northwest ITnion Packet Co. — Death of Caiit. McCune — Gray and Da- 
vidson — St. Louis & St. Paul Packet Co. — The Diamond Jo Line — The Eagle 
Packet Co. — Galena and Minnesota Packet Co. — Its organization, boats and 
officers 513-520 

CHAPTER LXIX. 

Early steamboats on the Illinois River — Naples Packet Co. — The Five Day 
Line — Illinois River Packet Co 521-624 

CHAPTER LXX. 

A fast age — A celebrated four-mile race between Eclipse and Henry in 1823 — 
Description of the race — The race of the Lee and the Natchez .526-531 

CHAPTER LXXI. 

Description of the race and the time made between the steamers Diana and 
Baltic 532-536 

CHAPTER LXXII. 

Description of fast boats — The years they ran — The time tliey made — The 
points between which they ran 537-539 

CHAPTER LXXIII. 
Unprecedented speed — From the New Orleans Picayune, 1838 541-544 

CHAPTER LXXIV. 

Mississippi Valley Transportation Co. — Its organization and otlicers — Barges 
vs. steamboats — Letter from E. W. Gould on barge transportation — Cheap 
transportation — Barge transportation on the Missouri River 544-558 

CHAPTER LXXV. 

War record of steamboats — Confederate gun boats — Transport boats de- 
stroyed during the war — Steamer Empress attacked by Confederate gun- 
boats — Death of Capt. John MoUoy — His obituary — The Alice Dean 
destroyed — Account given by Gen. Johnston — Capt. James H. Pepper — River 
reminiscences from Capt. D. H. Handlan — Memorandum steamer John Walsh. .559-571 

CHAPTER LXXVI. 

Steamboat vs. railroad — New methods to accomplish great result) — Letter to 
the Times- Democrat — Times for fast fine boats not past — Letter fr jm a clerk — 
Prediction lor better times — From the railway register — River transportation 
discussed — Three steamboats in the New Orleans and St. Louis trade 672-579 



INDEX. XV 



CHAPTER LXXVII. 

PAGES. 

Causes of failure of steamboat success considered — The wharfage extortion — 
Letter to the editor of the Courier Journal — Mania for railroad building — 
Steamer Mollie Mollier at St. Paul — Assumption of Judge Davis 580-5',H) 



CHAPTEK LX XVIII. 

Low water traveling on the Ohio — Steamboat Daisy — Ludlow & Smith Theat- 
rical Co.'b trij) on the Ohio in 18:}8 — Among the company Mrs. Russel, Mrs. 
Farren, Miss Petre, De Bar, Farreu and many others — Steamer Mediator — 
Capt. Hercules Carroll — Trip of steamboat Knickerbocker from Cairo to Cin- 
cinnati in 1838 590-594 

Biographical 595-727 

Early Steamboat Book-keeping '. 729-731 

Remarkable changes in a half century 732-747 

Conclusion 478-749 



GOULD'S HISTORY 



RIVER NAVIGATION. 



CHAPTEE T. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

TN writing a history of navigation on the rivers of the Mis- 
-*• sissippi valley, it is so initmately connected with the set- 
tlement of the country, the character and habits of the early 
navigators — the modes of early transportation, the invention 
of steam — its application to navigation — the names and the 
peculiarities of its inventors and promoters, its effect upon the 
development of the valley, morally and physically, that to 
write intelligently of the one necessarily involves that of the 
others. 

Therefore all will be considered as nearly in chronological 
order as the nature of the various subjects will permit. 

While the writer can only speak from his own personal 
observations and experience from 1835 to the present time 
(1889), he has through the public records and the courtesy of 
friends secured reliable data sufficient to warrant an interest- 
ing book for the general reader and a valuable one as a book 
of reference to those more intimately connected with naviga- 
tion. 

It will not be necessary to remind those who are acquainted 
with the cares and duties of a practical boatman that but little 
time and less inclination to cultivate the faculty of booh 
making or book writing remains. 

Consequently this class of readers will expect but little be- 
yond the careful compilation of facts, collected from the im- 



2 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

perfect accounts in the newspapers of the day, and the few 
books that have been preserved that refer to the history and 
the incidents which the author proposes to perpetuate in this 
condensed form. 

Those who would criticise the work for its errors or omis- 
sions, should remember how great the difficulty to collate facts 
and reliable data, extending through a period of seventy-five 
years, and over a sparsely settled country like that of the Valley 
of the Mississippi. 

But it is due to the memory of the pioneers of this great 
industry, and to those that succeeded them, as well as to the 
history of the country that a more condensed history of the 
important and interesting events should be written and it is 
hoped this brief and desultory review will fill a long neglected 
demand. 

With fourteen thousand miles of navigable rivers it w^U be 
interesting to note the various methods that have been adapted 
from time to time to navigate them, the character of the navi- 
gators and the effect the various modes of navigation has had 
on the development of the country since its discovery in 1492. 



CHAPTEE II. 

DIFFERENT MODES OF NAVIGATrON. 

IMMEDIATELY succeeding the universal canoe of the 
aborigines came the flat-boat, the pirogue, the mackanaw 
boat, the keel-boat, the barge, the horse-boat and last, but 
not least, the " broadhorn " or produce boat, used in floating 
the products of the Valley down the water-courses, and 
especially to New Orleans where they found egress to the 
markets of the world. 

So long as the current of the rivers could be made available, 
but little embarrassment was felt, as the demand was light and 
labor cheap. But when it became necessary to ascend the 
streams and overcome the strong currents various devices 
were resorted to. When it was not possible to use the sail, 
the cheapest of all motive power, sweeps, poles and cordells 
were always at hand. While the broadhorns from the Ohio 
and its tributaries were never returned from their destination, 
the principal supplies of the Valley were imported via New 



KEEL-BOAT AND PIROGUE NAVIGATION. 6 

"Orleans in keel boats and bars^es with a capacit}' of some fifty 
to one hundred tons. A voyage from New Orleans to the Falls 
of the Ohio, the head of navigation at that period, often con- 
sumed four months. 

The fur trade on the Missouri river and its tributaries was 
xjarried on in a smaller craft known as a pirogue and the 
tnackanaw boat, and was navigated by a class of Canadiana 
princii)ally, known as " vo\'agers," whose habits and semi- 
civilizaiion adapted them particularly to that kind of life. 
These pirogues or boats were built at the trading houses, or 
forts at different points and loaded with furs and peltries and 
floated down the rivers on the spring floods. But compara- 
tively few of them were ever taken back. Although what 
supplies were required for the forts and the Indian trade was 
carried on these boats, and while they came down very rapidly, 
the whole navigable season was often consumed in making the 
round trip. 

The little commerce on the upper Mississippi was confined 
principally to supplying the miners in the Galena Lead Mines 
-and the Government forts, and in the transportation of the 
lead to St. Louis, and was carried by keel boats of about one 
Jiundred tons capacity. 

These mines were opened in 1826, and the shipments of 
lead increased rapidly, which called into use a large number 
of keel boats, and although the steamboat Virginia (the first 
boat that went above the Des Moines Rapids), arrived at 
Galena in 1823, it was several years before steamboats were 
employed in the transportation of lead, and then for a long 
time they were used for towing the keel boats, as the water 
on the rapids was too shoal to admit of its being carried on 
the kind of boats then in use. 

In order to fully appreciate the value of steamboat naviga- 
tion, as a prominent feature in the settlement of this Valley, 
it may be interesting to look a little into the history of the in- 
vention of steam and its ai)plicationto navigation. It has gen- 
erally been understood that Robert Fulton was the inventor 
and the prime mover in the introduction of steamjin navigation. 
So far as the waters of the Mississippi Valley are concerned, 
that is true. But as early as 178G John Fitch introduced a 
steamboat on the Delaware river at Philadelphia. 

Barnwell R. Grant in Potters American Monthly, Vol. IV., 
page 173, gives this account: — " The first steam vessel ever 
moved by steam in the United States (and there is reason to 
believe in the world) was a small skiff. The experiment was 
{made by John Fitch, assisted by Henry Voight, upon the Dela^ 



4 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

ware river, at Philadelphia, about the 20th of July, 178()» 
These trials were made with a steam engine of three-inch cylin- 
der which moved a screw paddle — an endless chain having^ 
paddles fixed upon it, and placed on the sides of the boat; and 
they tested one or two other modes of propulsion. The skiff 
was moved by the power of steam, but not so swiftly as to 
satisfy the ho})es of the inventors. They changed the method 
of working by the employment of oars in the side of the skiff, 
which were moved by cranks and beams. This skiff was then 
propelled at the rate of seven miles per hour on the 27th of 
July, 17S6. 

" The second vessel ever moved by steam was forty-five feet 




FITCH'S FIRST SUCCESSFUL STEAMBOAT. 



Ions with twelve feet beam. The engine was a twelve-inch 
cylinder. 

" Six oars or paddles working perpendicularly were on 
each side of the boat. Of this boat we give a copy of an 
engraving which appeared in the Columbia Magazine for De- 
cember, 1786. 

" In the same periodical appeared Fitch's account of this 
steamboat, as follows: 

"'Philadelphia, December 8, 1786. Sir. — The reason 
for my so long deferring to give you a description of my steam 
boat has been in some measure owing to the complication of 
the works and an apprehension that a number of drafts would 
be necessary in order to show the powers of the machine as 
clearly as you could wish. * But as I have not been able to 



FITCH S DESCRIPTION OF BOAT. O 

hand jou herewith such drafts, I can only give you the general 
principals." " 'It is in several parts simihir to the late improved 
steam engines in Europe, thougii there are some alterations. 
Our cylinder is too horizontal to work with equal force at each 
end. 

" ' The mode b}^ which we obtain (Avhat I take the liberty'' of 
terming) a vacuum is, we believe, entirely new ; as is also the 
method of letting the water into it, and throwing it off against 
the atn)osi)here without any friction. It is expected that the 
engine, which is a twelve-inch cvlinder, will move with a clear 
force of eleven or twelve cwt., after the friction is deducted. 

" ' This force is to work against a wheel of eio:hteen inches 
diameter. The piston is to move about three feet and each 
vibration of the piston gives the axis about forty evolutions. 
Each evolution of the axis moves twelve oars or paddles 
five and a half feet, which work perpendicularly, and are rep- 
resented by the stroke of the paddle of a canoe. As six of 
the paddles are raised from the water, six more are entered. 
And the two sets of [^addles make two strokes of about eleven 
feet in each evolution. 

*' ' The cranks of axis act upon the paddles about one-third 
of their length from the lower end on which part of the oar the 
whole force of the axis is applied. 

" ' Our engine is placed on the boat about one-third from 
the stern, and with the action and reaction, turn the wheel the 
same Avay. 

" ' With the most perfect respect, sir, I beg leave to sub- 
scribe myself your very humble servant," John Fitch.' " 

** This Steam Boat was finished and tried upon the Delaware 
at Philadelphia, August 27tli, 1787, in the presence of a]large 
number of members of the convention to frame the Ftderal 
(Jonstilution. 

" They were all satisfied with the trip, and special certifi- 
cates were given to Fitch by Governor Randolph of Virginia, 
David Rittenhouse, Dr. John Emering, provost of the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, Professor Andrew Elliott, of the same 
Institution, and many others. 

" The third boat propelled by steum in the United States, 
was built by James Rumsey, of Virginia, and tried Dec. 3, 
1787, at Shepardstown, Virginia. 

" This boat was propelled by sucking in water at the bow 
and ejecting it at the stern. It moved at the rate of four 
miles per hour, but only made one trip, and probably did not 
go a half mile in distance. 



6 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

** About the close of 1788 John Fitch organized a company 
in Philadelphia under whose auspices he built a small Steam 
Packet sixty feet long, and eight feet beam. 

" This was the fourth steam boat. The oars or paddles on 
this boat were located in the stern and pushed against the 
water. 

"The engine was of the same size as the one previously 
built by Fitch. 

" Towards the end of July a trip was made to Burlington, 
New Jersey, it being probably the longest trip hitherto made 
by any steamboat. 

" In October of the same year another trip was made to 
Burlington with thirty passengers, the time occupied being 
three hours and ten minutes. 

"The average rate of this boat was about four miles per 
hour, which the company did not consider fast enough. They 
therefore determined to build another. 

" This filth boat was finished in 1789 and had an 18-inch 
cylinder. The rate of s[)eed attained was eight miles per 
hour. During 1790 it was run regularly on the Delaware for 
the conveyance of both passengers and freight. But the com- 
pany failed that year and the boat was withdrawn. About 
this time experiments were conducted on the Connecticut 
river by Samuel Morey, who built the sixtli stecnnboai in the 
United States, which he propelled from Hartford to New 
York in 1794 at the rate of speed of five miles per hour. 

" At the S'lme time John Fitch tried his steamboat projects 
in France without success, the times being unpropitious on 
account of the excesses of the French Revolution. 

" In 1796 he returned to New York where he built a yawl 
which was propelled by a screiv propeller, at the stern. It 
was tried upon a fresh water pond called the Collect, under 
the patronage of Robert R. Livingston. 

" In the following year Samuel Morey of Ct)nnecticut con- 
structed at Rodentown, New Jersey, a steamboat with paddle- 
wheels at the sides, which was propelled to Philadelphia the 
same year and publicly exhibited. 

" During subsequent years, other steamboats were built by 
Fitch, Oliver Evens and John Fox Stephenson, there being 
eleven in all previous to the year 1807." 



y DESCRIPTION OF THE CLERMONT. 



CHAPTEK III. 

THEN came Robert Fulton with the Uvelflh steamboat^ 
which w^as twenty-one years after Fitch's first experi- 
ments. So, contrary to the ct)nimon impression, Fulton, in- 
stead of beino; the inventor of steamboats, was only the 
successful adopter of the discoveries and ideas of others who 
preceded him. We must not, however, underestimate the 
real service he has rendered to the science of steam naviga- 
tion nor the value of his original experiments. While in 
Birmingham, England, he familiarized himself with the steam 
engine, then first improved by Watt. He had in September, 
1793, addressed a letter to Lord Stanhope respecting the 
moving of vessels by the means of steam, and had been aided 
in France by Chaucellor Livingston, who had procured an act 
by the New York legislature, giving to Fulton and himself 
the exclusive privilege of navigating the waters of that State 
by steam. In 1<S07 the " Clermont" was built and traversed 
the Hudson River at the rate of five miles per hour. That 
vessel was very unlike any of its successors, and even dissimi- 
lar in shape from which it appeared a few nionths afterwards. 
With a model like a Long Island skiff, it was decked for a short 
distance at the stem and stern. The engine was open to view, 
and from the engine aft, a house like that of a canal boat was 
raised to cover the boilers and the apartments for the officers. 

In these, by the addition of a few berths, the passengers 
were accommodated. There were no wheel-g;uards or 
covers. The rudder was like that used by sailing vessels, 
and worked by a tiller. The boiler was in form like that used 
in "V\''att's engines, and was set in masonry. The condenser 
was the size used on land enj^ines, and stood in a large cold 
water cistern. The weight of the masonry and the great 
capacity of the cold water cistern, diminished very materially 
the buoyancy of the vessel. At this point, Fulton's ingenuity 
and versatility of invention, were called into play. To the eye 
of the world the experiment was successful, and yet was so 
imperfect as to be liable to continual accident and annoyance. 

The rudder had so little power that the vessel could hardly 
be managed and could not be made to veer around even in the 
whole breadth of the Hudson river at New York. The spray 
from the wheels dashed over the passengers, and the skippers 
of the river craft, taking advaniagt^ of the unwieldiness 
of the vessel, did not fail to run afoul of her as often a& 



8 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

they thought they had the law on their side. Thus in several 
instances the steamboat reached one termini or the other of 
its route with but a single wheel. Before the season closed, 
the wheel was surrounded by a frame of strong beams, and the 
paddles were covered in. The rudder had taken the shape of 
a rectangle, of large iron of horizontal dimensions. 

This rudder was worked by a wheel, the ropes of which were 
attached to the end next distant from the pivotals. The ves- 
sel of the hist mentioned arrangement became so navigable as 
to be capable of veering at Albany, and was more likely to in- 
flict than to receive injury, by an encounter with sailing 
vessels. During the winter of 1807-8 the Clermont was 
almost entirely rebuilt. The hull was considerably lengthened 
and covered from stem to stern with a flush deck. Beneath 
this two cabins were formed, and surrounded by double 
ranges of berths, fltted up in a manner then unexampled for 
comfort. The vessel was then advertised to run at stated 
periods, between New York and Albany, as a packet. The time 
of her flrst departure being the first Wednesday in May, 1808. 
On that day Fulton himself was on board. The first marked 
incident was leaving several passengers who had ventured to 
trust to the want of punctuality then usual in the departure 
of vessels. 

The rule of starting at the exact hour was then enforced for 
the flrst time, and from that rule there was no deviation there- 
after. The whole passage on this trip was made in less than 
forty hours, including a delay of two hours at Chancellor 
Livingston's seat — " Clermont." Symptoms of difficulty were 
manifested, however, on the upward passage. Mr. Fulton aj)- 
peared anxious and abstracted. Finalky steam began to make 
its appearance' in very minute jets through the joints of a 
wooden trunk, that was at flrst considered by the passengers 
as the case of the boiler. It'was at last found to be the boiler 
itself, and it was whispered that Fulton had been overruled 
by his associates and that a cylinder of wooden staves, con- 
taining tire place and flues of copper had been substituted for 
the boiler of Watt, instead of replacing by a new boiler of 
€opper. This form of boiler had been jiroposed, but as far as 
we can learn had never been used by Watt. On the return 
voyage the leaks in the boiler continued to increase. The 
si>eed of the vessel, although aided b}' a flood in the river, be- 
came less and less, and after flftv-seven hours of struo-o-lino; the 
engine ceased to work. 

The vessel was then at the foot of Christopher street. New 
York City. The flood tide made itself felt in opposition to 



FULTON S EXPERIMENTS ON THE HUDSON. 




10 goui^d's history of river navigation. 

its progress, and the passengers considered it better to make- 
a landing, and find their way on foot to peopled parts of the 
city. On the upward passage the officer in command was 
Captain Jenkins. During the downward passage Captain 
Wesswell came on board and assumed command, replacing 
Captain Jenkins. As the vessel approached upper Red Hood, 
while Wesswell was trying his best to appear to advantage 
before his owners, the boat grounded. Blame was laid by 
him on the pilot, which led after a torrent of vituperation on 
each side, to blows, in which one of the parties was knocked 
down, and one received a bhick eye. This was the first and 
last act of insubordination in that line. It took some weeks 
to secure a new boiler, after the expiration of which the 
Clermont resumed her proper trips. 

In the month of September, in 1809, there occurred the ex- 
citing saene then first enacted of a steamboat race. A com- 
pany had been formed at Albany for the purpose of compet- 
ing with Fulton. The first vessel of the rival line was 
advertised to leave at the same time with Fulton, Party 
feeling ran high at Albany in the hotels and in all public 
places. The partizans of Fulton were enrolled under Profes- 
sor Kemp of the Columbia College — those of the opposition 
under Captain Jacob Stout. 

The victory was long in suspense, and it w^as not until after 
the thirteenth hour of a hard struggle that the result was pro- 
claimed by Dr. Kemp standing on the taffrail of Fulton's 
vessel, and holding out in derision a coil of rope to Captain 
Scott, for the purpose, as he informed him, of towing him 
into port. ^ 

Fulton's second large boat on the Hudson was the "Car of 
Neptune," w^hich was also built in 1809. In 1809 he obtained 
bis first patent from the United States, and in 1811 took out a 
second patent for some improvement in his boats and machin- 
ery. They were limited to the simple means of adapting 
paddle wheels to the axle of the crank of Watt's engine. 

In addition to the two vessels already mentioned, Fulton 
constructed ferry boats, to run between New York and New 
Jersey, a boat for the navigation of Long Island Sound, five 
for the Hudson river, and several for different parts of the 
United States, including a number for the Ohio and the Mis- 
sissippi rivers. 



IKOM iVlISaOUKl GAZETTE OF 1808, 11 



CHAPTER ly. 

IN THE Missouri Gazette, published in St. Louis, in 1808, an 
article appears by which it may be seen something of the 
feeling then pervading the public mind on the subject of 
Steamboat Navigation. 

" The steamboat is certainly an interesting curiosity to 
strangers. To see this large and apparently unwieldly 
machine without oars or sails propelled through the element 
by invisible agency at the rate of four miles an hour would be 
a novelty in any quarter of the globe. As we understand 
there is none in Europe upon the plan upon which this is con- 
structed. The length of the boat is one hundred and ninety 
feet, and her width in proportion." 

The machine which moves her wheels is called, we believe, 
a twenty-four horse machine. Or equal to the power of 
twenty-four horses, and is kept in motion by steam from a 
copper boiler of eight or ten feet in length. The wheels are 
on each side similar to those on water mills and under cover. 
They are moved backward separately or together, at pleasure. 

" Her principle advantage is in cahns or against head-winds. 
When the wind is fair, light square sails, etc., are employed 
to increase her speed. Her accommodations are lifty-two 
berths, besides sofas, etc., and are said to be equal to any 
vessel that floats on the river, as all the space occupied by the 
machinery is fitted in the most convenient way. 

" Between New York and Albany is a distance of one hun- 
dred and sixty miles, which she performs regularly twice a 
week ; sometimes in the short space of time of thirty-two 
hours, exclusive of detention in taking in and landing 
passengers. 

" On her passage last week she left New York with over a. 
hundred passengers, and Albany with eighty or ninety. 
Indeed this aquatic stage from Alba.ny, with the excitement, 
bids fair to attract the greatest part of the travelers which pass 
the Hudson, and afford them accommodations not exceeded in 
any other part of the world." 

The following letters will be read with interest in this con- 
nection, showing the character and confidence of Mr. Fulton 
in this important motive power, then for the first time being 
practically applied in developing the great resources of the 
then almost unknown country. 

The first letter was written on the return of the steamboat. 



12 Gould's history of river navigation. 

*' Clermont" from Albany, in August, 1807, and published 
in a New York paper. On this voyage Mr. Fulton had been 
a passenger on the boat. He writes: 

*' To THE Editor of the American Citizen : 

" Sir: — I arrived this afternoon at four o'clock, in the 
steamboat from Albany. As the success of my experiments 
gives me great hopes that such boats may be rendered of great 
importance to my^ country, to prevent envious opinions, and 
to give some satisfaction to the friends of useful improve- 
ments, you will have the goodness to publislx the following 
letter:" 

" ' I left New York on Monday at one o'clock, and arrived 
at Clermont, the seatof Chancellor Livingston, at one o'clock 
on Tuesday. Time, twenty-four hours; distance, one hun- 
dred and ten miles. 

On W'^dnesday I departed from the Chancellor's at nine 
in the "ning, and arrived at Albany at five in the after- 
noon. Distance, forty miles; time, eight hours. The total 
is one hundred and fifty miles, in thirty-two hours — equal to 
near five miles an hour. 

On Thursday, at nine o'clock in the morning, I left 
Albany, and arrived at the Chancellor's at six in the evening. 
I started from there at seven, and arrived in New York at 
four in the evening. Time, thirty hours; space run through, 
one hundred and fifty miles, equal to five miles an hour. 

Throughout my whole way, both going and returning, the 
wind was ahead. No advantage could be derived from sails. 
The whole has therefore been performed by the power of the 
steam engine.' " I am, your obedient servant, 

Robert Fulton." 

Life of Robert Fulton, by C. D. Colden, 1817. 

The second letter was addressed to Jotel Barlow, a personal 
friend, living in Philadelphia: 

*' ' New York, August, 2. 1807. 

"My Dear Friend: — My steamboat voyage to Albany 
and back has turned out rather more favoiubly than I had 
calculated. 

The distance from New York is one hundred and fifty miles. 
I ran it up in thirty-two hours and down in thirty hours. The 
latter is just five miles an hour. 



Fulton's letter to joel barlow. 13 

I had alight breeze against me going and coming, so no use 
was made of my sails and the voyage has been performed 
wholly by the ase of my engine. I overtooli many sloops 
and schooners, beating to windward, and passed them as if 
they had been at anchor. 

The power of propelHng boats by steam is now fully proved. 
The morning I left New York there was not perhaps thirty 
persons in the city who believed the boat would ever be 
moved one mile an hour, or be of the least utility, and while 
we were putting off from the wharf, which was crowded with 
spectators, I heard a number of sarcastic remarks. This is 
the way, you know, in which ignorant men compliment what 
they call philosophers and projectors. 

Having employed much time, money and zeal, in accom- 
plishing this work, it gives me, as it will you, great pleasure 
to see it so fully answer my expectations. 

It will give a cheap and quick conveyance on ihe^ Mississippi 
and Missouri, and other great rivers, which are now laying 
open their treasures to the enterprise of our countrymen, and 
although the prospects of personal emoluments has been some 
inducement to me, yet I feel infinitely more pleasure in reflect- 
ing with you, on the immense advantage my country will de- 
rive from the invention. 

However, I will not admit that it is half as important as 
the torpedo defense and attack. For out of this will grow 
the liberty of the seas, an object of infinite imj^ortance to 
the welfare of Amc "ca and every civilized countrj^ 

But thousands of witnesses have now seen the steamboat in 
rapid movement, and they believe. They have not seen a ship 
of war destroyed by a torpedo, and they do not believe. 

We cannot exp'-ct people in general, will have a knowledge 
of physics, or po er of mind sufficient to combine ideas, and 
reason from causes to effects. But in case we have war, and 
the enemies ships come into our waters, if the government 
will give me reasonable cause of action, I will even convince 
the world that we have surer and cheaper modes of defense 
than they are aware of. 

Yours, etc., 

Robert Fulton.'* 

Niles Register, vol. 33, 1822. 

As an illustration of the fear and surprise manifested by 
those that were navigating the Hudson river, and the citizens 
living upon its banks, at the time the Clermont made her first 
trip, the following graphic account is found among the papers 



14 Gould's history of river navigation. 

published at that time, and brings to mind a similar experience 
of tlie early boatmen on the waters of the Mississippi valley a 
few years later. 

" The Clermont, on her first voyage, excited the astonish- 
ment of the inhabitants on the shores of the Hudson, many 
of whom had not even heard of an engine,' much less of a 
steamboat. 

There were many descriptions of the effects of her first ap- 
pearance upon the people on the banks of the river. Some of 
them were ridiculous. But some of them were of such a 
character as nothing but an object of real grandeur could have 
excited. 

She was described by some who had indistinctly seen her 
passing in the night, to those who had not had a view of her, 
as a monster moving on the waters, defying the winds and the 
tide, and breathing liames and smoke. She had the most ter- 
rific appearance from other vessels which were navigating the 
river when she was making this passage. 

The first steamboats, as others still do, used diy pine wood 
for fuel, which sends forth a vohime of ignited va[)or many 
feet above the fine, and whenever the fire is stirred a galaxy 
of sparks fly off, and in the night have a very brilliant and 
beautiful appearance. 

This uncommon light first attracted the crews of other 
vessels. 

Notwithstanding the winds and tides were adverse to its ap- 
proach, they saw, with astonishment, that it was rapidly com- 
ing towards them. And when it came so near that the noise 
of the machinery and paddle wheels were heard, the crews (if 
what was said by the newspapers was true), in some instances, 
sank beneath their decks, from the terrific sight, and left their 
vessels to goon shore, while others prostrated themselves, and 
besought Providence to protect them from the approach of 
the horrible monster J which was marching on the tides, and 
lighting its path by its fire, which it was vomiting." 

While it cannot be claimed that Mr. Fulton was the inven- 
tor or the first to apply steam to navigation, no one can deny 
that he is entitled to far more credit than any one else for its 
practical application for purposes of navigation, as well as for 
railroads and other modern inventions. 

In fact, history gives no account of any other so brilliant 
and practical a genius as Kobert Fulton, and posterity can 
never appreciate the loss of such a benefactor to the race. 

He passed away in the zenith of his usefulness, in the city of 
New York, February 24th, 1815, in the fiftieth year of his age. 



STEAMBOAT IN SPAIN. 1543. 15 

It seems surprising that so important and powerful an agent 
as steam siiouldhave lain dormant for so many centuries await- 
ino; the advent of a mind with sufficient force and genius to 
control and utilize it. 

While Watt, Fitch, Evens, Stephens, Morey, Ramsey, and 
others anticipated Fulton by several years in the applica- 
tion of steam, even in navigation, yet it remained for him 
to develop its wonderful power and utility not only as a 
motive agent in navigation, but in all branches of industry. 

And hence it is that Robert Fulton's name is prominently 
associated with everything connected with the discovery and 
■application of steam as a motive power. 

It is claimed with some degree of probability, that a Span- 
iard by the name of Blasco de Gary, constructed in Spain, 
in 1543, a steamboat, under the patronage of King Charles the 
Fifth, and successfully tried her in the harbor of Barcelona. 

From the fact that nothing further ever resulted from that 
experiment, so far as the record goes, it is hardly probable 
that it proved satisfactory. 

At that period Spain was in position, and her commerce and 
enterprise w^as such that it seems strange an invention so im- 
portant to her prosperity should have failed to attract the at- 
tention of the government or of her enterprising citizens. 



CHAPTER V. 



JOHN FITCH. 



IT IS phown by the most irrefragable testimony that John 
Fitch was the first man, in America at leasi, and prob- 
ably in the world, who ever carried this idea of applying steam 
power to the propulsion of vessels to any determinate result. 
A certificate from Dr. Thornton, of the Patent Office at Wash- 
ington, states that Fitch took out a patent for the application 
■of steam to navigation in the year 1788, before which time 
QO similar patent had been issued in this country. The earliest 
ascertained experiments of Mr. Fulton in steam navigation 
took place about the year 1798, ten years after the date of 
John Fitch's patent. Oliver Evans, in 1804, propelled a mud- 
scow by steam on the Schuylkill river. Mr. Fulton's first 
experimental boat was built at Paris, in 1803. His first 
American steamboat was launched in the spring of 1807. 



16 Gould's ihstoky of river navigation. 

Fitch brought his plan to the test of experiment on the Dela- 
ware river a short time after he took out his patent. The 
foUowing description is given of the machinery as contrived 
by Fitch: " The cylinder is horizontal, the steam working 
with equal force at both ends. The piston moves about three 
feet, and each vibration of it gives the axis forty revo- 
lutions. Each revolution of the axis moves twelve oars 
or paddles live and a half feet ; they work perpendicularly 
and are represented by the strokes of a paddle of a canoe. 
As six of the paddles are raised from the water, six more are 
entered, and the two sets of paddles make their strokes of 
about eleven feet in each revolution. The crank of the axis 
acts upon the paddles about one-third of their length from the 
lower ends, to which part of the oar the whole force of the 
axis is applied. The engine is placed in the bottom of the 
boat, about one-third from the stern, and both the action and 
reaction turn the wheel the same way." 

This description was written by the inventor himself, and 
was first |)ublished in Philadelphia Columbian Magazine, vol. 
I, for December, 1786. 

Fitch's boat was tried, as previously stated, on the Dela- 
ware river, in front of Philadelphia. The boat was ordered 
under way at slack water, and, by the most accurate measure- 
ment, was found to go at the rate of eight miles per hour, or 
one n)ile in six minutes and a half. It alterwards went eighty 
miles in a day. 

The Governor and Council of Pennsylvania expressed their 
satisfaction with the result of this experiment by presenting 
to the proprietors of the boat a superb silk Hag, emblazoned 
with the arms of the State. But, after all this magnificent 
demonstration the most glorious achievement of American 
ingenuity was permitted to fall into utter neglect. 

Dr. Thornton states that the company which had been 
formed under the Fitch patents to give the plan a proper 
trial — now, when the trial has been made, and when all rea- 
sonable doubts respecting the practicability and utility of the 
invention should have vanished — refused to advance any more 
money. It seems that those noble-spirited gentlemen, who 
constituted the first steamboat company ever organized, dis- 
banded themselves because they were afraid to meet the 
"unceasing ridicule " which this project had excited. Not 
even the practical realization of the plan could prevent fools 
from laughing at it as an insane speculation; nor could the 
sio:ht of a veritable steamboat, paddlinsr alons; the Delaware, 
enable wise men to treat this idiotic merriment with contempt, 



JOHN FITCH SUCCESS AT PHILADELPHIA. 17 

The company was dissolved, the boat was laid up in the docks, 
and the whole matter was abandoned, and John Fitch was fated 
to descend to the tomb without seeing the great object of his 
life accomplished, or the importance and value of his inven- 
tion duly appreciated by his countrymen. 

Justice to the memory of John Fitch forbids the admission 
of one particular incident of his life, which establishes bej^ond 
all cavil his chii-nto the invention of the steamboat. Before 
the dissolution of the comj)any just referred to, Aaron Vail, 
Esq., one of the members who was then the American consul 
at L'Orient, sent over a request for Mr. Fitch to visit France, 
in order to have the steamboat experiment tried in that coun- 
try. Fitch went over, accordingly, but on his arrival, owing 
to a scarcity of shipwrights, and other causes incident to the 
French Revolution, the enterprise failed, and Fitch returned 
to his own country, leaving his draughts and documents re- 
lating to his invention in the hands of Mr. Vail. These 
papers were exhibited by Mr. Vail to Robert Fulton, when 
that gentleman visited France several years afterwards and 
Mr. Fulton took copies, notes and memoranda which enabled 
him subsequently (he being more fortunate than John Fitch 
in finding assistance and resources) to complete the great work 
of which so considerable a part had already been executed by 
the ill-starred Fitch. 

To the very end of his life John Fitch had unwavering 
confidence in his neglected and despised contrivance. Ho 
struggled manfully to bring it once more into the scope of 
public observation; but the public, when it had kindness to 
refrain from mockery, merely made an exclamation of sorrow 
and pity, like that of Ophelia — 

•* Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! " 

Once, when he had been explaining the benefits of steam 
navigation to a party of gentlemen who heard his glowing 
description with significant smiles, one of the auditors re- 
marked, after he had retired, "What a pity that the poor 
fellow is crazy!" When the experimental boat had been 
finally laid up, as aforesaid, Fitch, in a letter to Mr. Ritten- 
house, wrote: " It would be much easier to carry a first-rate 
man-of-war by steam than a boat, as we would not be 
cramped for room, nor would the weight of the machinery be 
felt. This, sir, will be the mode of crossing the Atlantic in 
time, whether I bring it to perfection or not." 

Fitch returned from Europe to his own country, destitute 
2 



18 Gould's histoey of river navigation. 

and heartbroken. For two years he was obliired to depend 
for his daily bread on tiie kindness of a relation, Colonel 
George King, of Sharon, Connecticut. But having purchased 
some cheap lands in Kentucky, while he was surveying there in 
1796, he now went thither to take possession of this little 
property in the wilderness. But even this gratification was 
not allowed him, for having been thrown into a fever by 
fatigue and exposure, he died two or three days after his 
arrival. According to his request, John Fitch was buried on 
the shores of the Ohio, where (to use his own enthusiastic 
language), " the song of the boatman would enliven the still- 
ness of his resting place, and the music of the steam engine 
soothe his spirit." His manuscript journal contains the fol- 
lowing prophetic exclamation: — 

" The day will come when some more powerful man will 
get fame and riches from my invention, but nobody will be- 
lieve that poor John Fitch can do anything worthy of 
attention ! " 

" I know of nothing so perplexing and vexatious to a man 
of feelings, as a turbulent wife and steamboat building. I 
experienced the former and quit in season, and had I been in 
my right senses I should undoubtedly have treated the latter 
in the same manner, but for one man to be teased with both, 
he must be looked upon as the most unfortunate man of this 
world." 

The theory of steam navigation on water had been evolved 
and considered for more than 200 years before it actuallj^ took 
shape. 

James Rumsey was engaged in experiments from 1784 to 
1786, when he tried a boat on the Potomac, which made four 
miles|an hour, propelled by a jet of water forced from the stern. 

In the same year the paddle steamer, shown in the illustra- 
tion, was invented and built in Philadelphia, Pa., by John Fitch, 
of Windsor, Conn. After many disappointments and misfor- 
tunes in applying steam to the propulsion of vessels, Mr. Fitch 
finally triumphed over repeated failures. Successful experi- 
ments on the Delaware river, at Philadelphia, w^ere made in 
1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, and in 1790 he ran a regular packet 
by steam for passengers and freight on the Delaware which, 
for more than three months, made regular trips between Phila- 
delphia and certain towns on said river with ease and safety, 
and without material stoppage, accident or delay. 

The propelling instruments used by Fitch were paddles sus- 
pended by the upper ends of their shafts and moved by cranks. 
The boat shown in the cut was sixty feet long, very lightly built. 



JOHN fitch's patent. 19 

The second steamboat in the world was invented by Mr. 
:Sy mington in Enghind. 

It was tried in 1788, but only practically succeeded in 1801. 

The third steamboat in the world was invented by Robert 
Fulton, and his first experiments were made in Plombieres in 
1803, whilst his triumphs on the Hudson were delayed until 
1807, twenty-one years after Fitch propelled his first skiff 
steamboat on the Delaware. 

Patcnt-riaht granted to John Fitch. From G. H. Preble's 
*' History of Steam Navigation." 

' On the 2Gth of August, 1701, John Fitch obtained a U. S. 
patent for his invention which is signed by George Washing- 
ton, president. Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, who 
also testifies that the patent Avas delivered to him August 30th. 

The patent recites, " he having invented the following use- 
ful devices not before known or used, viz.," for appl3'ing the 
force of steam to a trunk or trunks, for drawing water in to the 
bow of a boat or vessel, and forcing the same out at the stern, 
in order to propel the boat or vessel through the water, for 
forcing a colunm of air through a trank or trunks filled with 
water by the force of steam, and for applying the force of 
fciteam to cranks, paddles, for propelling a boat or vessel 
through the water. 

The said John Fitch, his heirs, etc., were granted for the 
time of fourteen years the sole and exclusive right and liberty 
of making, using and vending to others the said inventions.' 

CO o 

JOHN FITCH'S WILL AND GKAVE. 

The remains of John Fitch were interred in the village 
graveyard of Bardstown, Nelson county. Ivy., in the rear of 
the court house and county jail, in 1798. Not a pebble of all 
the fine stone in the land marks his last resting place. But 
his last will and testament are on record, as co[)ied by a cor- 
respondent of the Philadelphia Evening Telegram, viz.: 

" I, John Fitch, of the county of Nelson, do make this, my 
last will and testament: 

To Wm. Rowan, Esquire, my trusty friend, my beaver hat, 
shoe, knee and stock buckles, walking stick and spectacles. 

To Dr. William Thornton, of Washington, D. C, to Eliza 
Vail, daughter of Aaron Vail, Council of the W. S. at 
L'Orient, to John Rowan, Esquire, of Bardstown, son of 
said William, and to James Nourse of said town, I bequeath 
all the rest of my estate, real and personal, to be divided 
among them share and share alike. And I appoint the said 



20 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

John Rowan, Esquire, and James Nourse, Esquire, my exe- 
cutors, and the legacies hereby bequeathed to them, my said 
executors is in consideration of their accepting the executor- 
ship and bringing to a tinal close all suits at law and attend- 
ing to the business of estate hereby bequeathed. Hereby 
declaring this to be my last will and testament, thia the 20tb 
day of June, 1798 — witness my hand and seal. 
Acknowledged, signed and sealed in presence of 

James Nourse, 
Michael Rench, 
her 

SUSANAH + McCoWJSi. 

^ mark. 

On the 10th of July, following, the will was passed by the 
executors and ordered to be recorded." 



CHAPTEE yi. 

ROBERT FULTON. 

WHILE we accord to John Fitch the credit which is justly 
due to him as the true and original contriver of the 
steamboat, with equal justice we will make the acknowledg- 
ment, that the subject of the present sketch., by his firmness 
of purpose and energy of character, no less than by his brill- 
iant genius and correct judgment, carried the enterprise 
through to a successful and gh)rious termination. Robert 
Fulton was born in the town of Little Britain, Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania (A. D. 1765), His father, a native of 
Kilkenny, Ireland, was in very moderate cirormstances, which 
may explain the fact that Robert's early education was some- 
what neglected. His earliest tastes inclined him to observe 
the operations of different mechanics, in whose shops he 
passed most of his leisure hours. Having a natural talent for 
the use of the pencil he began at the age of twelve years to 
cultivate this gift, and before he had reached his fifteenth 
year, he became, in the estimation of his rural neighbors, 
quite an expert artist. Two years later he practiced portrait 
and landscape painting in Philadelphia. Here he soon ac- 
quired money enough to purchase a small farm in "Washington 
county, where he provided his widowed mother with a com- 
fortable home, while he made preparations for a voyage to 



ROBERT FULTON IN EUROPE. 21 

England, according to the advice of some of his friends, for 
the purpose of exhibiting some of his paintings to his country- 
man, Benjamin "NA'est. Mr. AVest, at this time, enjoyed the 
favor and patronage of the British government, and his repu- 
tation as one of the first painters of the age was ah-eady estab- 
lished. He received young Fulton with much kindness, gave 
him all possible encouragement, and offered him a home in 
his own house, where he remained for two years. At the 
end of that time Mr. Fulton traveled through different parts 
of England, and became acquainted with several distinguished 
men of science. 

It is supposed that at this period of his life he began to 
devote his attention exclusively to mechanical inventions. In 
his twenty-fifth year (A. D. 1793), he was actively engaged in 
a project to improve inland navigation, and one year later he 
obtained from the British government a patent for a double 
inclined plane, to be used for transportation. We have no 
particular account of his transactions during several years 
following, though in 1794 he submitted to the British Society 
for the Promotion of Arts and Commerce, an improvement in 
his invention of mills for sawing marble. His patents for 
two machines, one for spinning flax, andthe other for making- 
ropes, are dated 1795. In the next year he published at 
London his treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation. 
In this work he expresses his preference for small canals, and 
boats of light burden, and contends for the use of inclined 
planes instead of locks. His plans were highly approved by 
the British Boara of Agriculture. 

Mr. Fulton was now engaged in the profession of a civil 
•engineer, and employed the pencil merely to execute plans 
and draughts of machinery in connection with his professional 
duties. lie now visited France, for the purpose of introduc- 
ing his canal inprovements into that country. In the year 
1797 he became acquainted with the celebrated Joel Barlow, 
who then resided at Paris. In the family of this distinguished 
American, Mr. Fulton took up his abode for several years, 
during which time he studied the French, Italian and German 
languages, and perfected himself in the high mathematics, 
chemistry and natural philosophy. 

In 1797 Messrs. Fulton and Barlow made experiments on 
the river Seine with a machine which the former had con- 
structed on the torpedo principle, the object of which was to 
destroy an enemy's ships by submarine explosions. These 
experiments proved unsuccessful. But not at all discouraged 
by his first failure, Mr. Fulton pursued this object until hia 



22 Gould's history of river navigation. 

plan for propelling and steering a boat under water was^^ 
brought to perfection. When tliis satisfactory result was. 
attained, be applied to the French Directory for pecuniary 
assistance, but that body did not appreciate the invention. He 
then applied to the British government, but met with similar 
discouragement in that quarter. In themeantime, Bonaparte 
had placed himself at the head of public affairs in France, and 
he, not being one of the " old fogy " school, promptly re- 
sponded to Mr. Fulton's application by appointing a commis- 
sion to examine the new war-like machine. The examining 
committee having made a favorable rci)ort, Mr. Fulton was 
supplied by Napoleon with a sufficiency of funds to bring 
some of his plans to the test of experiment. He first made a 
trial of the " phmging boat" at Brest, in 1801. Notwith- 
standing many imperfections in the machinery, and other dis- 
advantages incident to a first experiment, he demonstrated 
that, by means of this contrivance, a sufficiency^ of light and 
air could be obtained under water; that the boat could be 
made to descend to any depth, or rise to the surface with per- 
fect facility, and that she would tack or veer as rapidly as 
any common sailing boat. On the 7th of August Mr. Fulton 
descended with a store of air compressed in a copper globe, 
and was thus enabled to remain under water nearly four hours 
and a half. He next attempted to put this invention to it* 
proper use by blowing up English vessels cruising near the- 
harbor of Brest ; for this purpose he provided his plunging 
boat with a torpedo, or submarine bomb, and approaching a 
small British vessel within a distance of two hundred yards, 
he blew her to atoms. A similar attempt was made on an 
English seventy-four, which saved herself at the critical 
moment by an accidental change of position. 

The advantages of a submarine warfare were not fully esti- 
mated in Europe, and Mr. Fulton having become disgusted 
with the tardy action of several European governments in re- 
lation to this subject, returned to his own country in 1806. 
He found the American government very propitious to his 
undertakings, and a grant of sufficient funds Avas made to en- 
able him to put the capabilities of his torpedo to a fair trial. 
By means of one of these Jewels of Belona, he blew up, and 
totally annihilated, a large hulk brig, which had been pre- 
pared for the purpose in the harbor of New York. In 1810 
Congress granted $5,000 to meet the expenses of additional* 
experiments with Fulton's explosive apparatus, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to superintend these trials. The old' 
sloop-of-war Argus, under the direction of Commodore- 



FULION S FIRST PATTENTS. 23 

Rogers, was prepared for defense against the torpedoes, and 
that skillful commander did his best to make them ineffective. 
In these circumstances, Mr. Fulton did not succeed in his 
main design of blowing up the vessel, but he approached in 
his submarine boat near enough to cut off a fourteen inch 
cable attached to the Argus. He himself did not consider 
this experiment on the Argus a failure, attributing his want 
of success to various defects in the explosive machinery, for 
which it was easy to find remedies. 

But the thoughts of Fulton now reverted to the subject of 
steam navigation, a subject upon which he had bestowed con- 
siderable study during his residence in Paris. In this enter- 
prise he possessed one grand advantage over all who had 
preceded him, being enabled to avail himself of the great im- 
})rovements which Watt and others had made in steam 
machinery. But for certain adaptations of the machinery to 
the object required, he was obliged to depend on his own in- 
ventive powers, in the absence of all precedent to direct his 
course. The paddle-wheel now used in steamboats appears 
to have been originally devised by Mr. Fulton. It should 
have been mentioned, by the way, that Messrs. Fulton and 
Livingston made an actual experiment with steam propulsion 
in France, in 1803. This experiment, however, was on a very 
small scale, and the result being not quite satisfactory, and as 
other objects demanded Mr. Fulton's attention, this project 
was temporarily set aside, nor was it resumed until sometime 
after his relurn to this country. 

Mr. Fulton took out his first patent for improvements in 
steam navigation on the 11th day of February, 1809, and on 
the 9th day of February, 1811, he obtained supplementary 
patents for further improvements in his boats and machinery. 
The pecuniary means required for carrying out these great 
designs were supplied by Mr Livingston, a gentleman of 
great wealth and equal liberality, who had assisted Mr. Fulton 
ill his steamboat experiments at Paris, and never at any time 
withheld his aid when the enterprise required it. The legis- 
lature of New York having passed an act which secured to 
Messrs. Fulton and Livingrston the exclusive benefits of steam 
navigation on the waters of that State for the term of twenty 
years, the last named gentleman caused a boat of about thirty 
tons to be built, but her dimensions being found insufficient, 
she was soon abandoned. In 1807 a steam engine was ordered 
from the manufactory of Watt & Bolton, of Birmingham, 
England ; it was constructed according to the specifications 
furnished by Mr. Fulton, who did not permit the manufactur- 



24 goujld"s history of river navigation, 

ers to know for what purpose it was intended. A suitable 
boat for the reception of this engine had been built at the 
ship-yard of Charles Brown, on the East river. The engine 
was put on board, and the boat was soon after moved by her 
machinery to the Jersey shore. This experimental trip was 
witnessed by a number of the principal citizens, including sev- 
eral men of science, whom Messrs. Fulton and Livingston had 
invited to be present on the occasion. 

At this time it is difficult to believe that a great majority of 
the people of that day had no faith in this undertaking. The 
common belief was that the boat could not be made to move a 
foot from the wharf, and the crowd of spectators now assem- 
bled to behold the result very freely indulged in sarcastic 
remarks, aimed at what they were pleased to call the folly or 
insanity of the projectors. When, therefore, the boat actually 
left the shore, and began to plough her way through the still 
waters, the multitude for a while stood gazing in mute a-ton- 
ishment, mingled with awe, at what they considered a miracle 
of art. But Avhen the boat, having reached the center of the 
river, turned her head down the stream and began to rush 
forward with increased velocity, the whole concourse, as if 
moved by one spirit, uttered a deafening and prolonged shout 
of applause and congratulation. Who can imagine the feel- 
ings of Robert Fulton at that moment? The day of recom- 
pense had arrived; his toils, travels, severe studies and 
frequent disappointments were unrequited no longer. He 
knew then that he had achieved a triumph which the world 
would acknowledge in all time to come. Here, then, for once, 
a public benefactor received, while living, the homage which 
his genius and his services to the cause of human progress had 
deserved. 

This first boat, whose performance so electrified the spec- 
tators, was called the Clermont. When some errors in the 
construction of the machinery had been corrected she made a 
trial trip to Albany, and performed that voyage of one hun- 
dred and fifty miles in about thirty hours, against the wind. 
Soon after the Clermont became a regular passage boat be- 
tween New York and Albany. Certain Quixotic persona 
conceived about these times that " pendulum power " might 
be made to rival steam as a propelling force, and a boat was 
actually built on that principle. As many had foreseen, 
however, the momentum of the pendulum could not over- 
come the resistance of the water, and this boat remained as 
stationary as the dock itself. 

The exclusive right to steam navigation on the rivers of 



STEAM FRIGATE — FULTON THE FIRST. 125 

New York, which the legislature had granted to Livingston 
and Fulton, was not duly respected, for several opposition 
boats were soon started. These were slightly varied from 
Fulton's mode of construction, in order to avoid an obvious 
infringement on his patent. Fulton and Livingston attem[)ted 
to assert their rights by recourse to the law, and applied to 
the Circuit Court of the United States for an injunction; but 
this court decided that it had no jurisdiction in the case. The 
application was renewed in the Chancery of the State, but 
after hearing the argument, the chancellor refused to grant 
an injunction. The Su{)reme Court, however, reversed the 
chancellor's decision, and ordered a perpetual injunction on 
the opposition boats. 

In the year 1812, two steam ferryboats for crossing the 
Hudson river, and one for the East river, were built under 
Mr. Fulton's directions. Thenceforth steamboats began to 
increase and multiply, and imi)rovements were gradually in- 
troduced by Mr, Fulton up to the time of his death. It has 
been remarked in commendation of his progressive skill and 
judgment, that the last boat built by him was always the best, 
-the swiftest and the most convenient. 

About the beginning of the last war with England, Mr. Ful- 
ton exhibited to a committee of citizens of New York the 
model of a steam man-of-war, provided with a strong battery, 
furnaces for red hot shot, etc. Several distinijuished naval 
commanders had already pointed out the advantages which 
must result from the employment of steam in propelling war 
vessels, and Mr. Fulton's plan so well received, that in the 
spring of 1814 Congress passed a law authorizing the Presi- 
dent to cause to be built, equipped and employed one or more 
floating batteries, for the defense of the ports and waters of 
the United States. In conforming with this law, the steam 
frigate Fulton the First, was built at New York, and on the 
4th of July, 1815, she made her first trip to the ocean and 
back, a distance of lifty-three miles in eight hours and twenty 
minutes. Henry Rutgers, Samuel L. Mitchell, Thomas Mor- 
ris, and Oliver Walcott, Esqs., commissioners of the navy, 
were present. Mr. Stoudinger, successor to Eobert Fulton 
was engineer. 

Before this vessel was completed Robert Fulton had ceased 
to exist. While superintending the works on board of the 
steam frigate, he exposed hmiself too long on deck, on a wet 
and stormy day; an attack of pleurisy followed, which ter- 
mmated his valuable life on the 24th day offFebruary, 1815. 
Mr. Fulton was married, in the year 1806, to Miss Harriet 



26 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

Livingston, a relative of Chancellor Livingston, bis friend and': 
associate in the steam navigation enterprise. He left four 
children, one son, Robert Barlow Fulton, and three daughters. 

Capt. Samuel J. Morey of Connecticut, is claimed to be the 
inventor of the lirst practical steamboat ever built. 

Rev. Cyrus Mann, of Oxford, New Hampshire, published in- 
1864 some account of Capt. Morey and of his steamboat. 

Mr. Mann was a scholar and a man of integrity and spent 
a month's time with Morey in investigating the claims of Ful- 
ton, Morey and others. 

The following is an extract from his book: — 

" The credit of the invention of the steamboat is commonly 
awarded to Robert Fulton, but it belongs primarily and chiefly, 
it is believed, to a more obscure individual. So far as is known 
the first steamboat ever seen on the waters of America was in- 
vented by Capt. Samuel Morey, of Oxford, New Hampshire. 

" The astonishing siijht of this man ascending the Connecticut 
river, between Oxford and Fairlee, in a little boat just large 
enough to contain himself and the rude machinery connected 
with the steam boiler and a handful of wood for a fire, was 
witnessed by the writer in his boyhood, and by others who 
still survive. This was as early as 17il3 or earlier and before 
Fulton's name had been mentioned in connection with steam 
navigation." 

Writing to William A. Drier, in October of 1818, Morey 
says: " As near as I can recollect it was as early as 1790, that 
I turned my attention to improving the steam engine, and to ap- 
plying it to the purpose of propelling boats. In June, 1797,. 
I went to Bordentown, on the Delaware, and there constructed' 
a steamboat and devised the plan of propelling by means of 
wheels, one on each side. 

The shafts ran across the boat with a crank in the middle 
worked from the beam of the engine with a shackle bar. 

The boat was openly exhibited in Philadelphia and I took 
out patents for my improvements." 

He accused Fulton of adopting his models and if he had had 
the means would probably have prosecuted Livingston and Ful- 
ton for an infringement of his patents. As he insisted, he was 
fully entitled to them for the application of the side wheels." 

It is difficult at this late date to determine who, if any one 
man, is entitled to the credit of first applying steam to naviga- 
tion. 

So far as the record goes, John Fitch is certainly entitled to 
a large share of credit and if he had been encouraged by men 
with [)ecuniary ability he would undoubtedly have secured the- 
credit that finally was accredited to Robert Fulton. 



2T 



CHAPTER YII. 

DISCOVERY OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.' 
BY FATHER HENNEPIN, IN 1680. 

THIS account is from his own narrative: — 
" He set out from Fort Crevecoeur, the 29th February,. 
1680. His party consisted of two Frenchmen auda few Indians, 
with two hirge canoes. They embarked upon the Illinois river 
and on the 8th of March reached the rivei (Colbert) i.e. the 
Mississi[)pi. The ice which tioated down from the north de- 
layed the expedition several days. We commenced to ascend 
the great river in April. The first river we come to is Rock 
river or Des Moines. Sixt> leagues up we reach the Puntos, 
fifty leagues above we reach the Lake of Tears, (Lake Pepin), 
which we so named because some Indians who had taken us,, 
wished to kill us wept the whole night to induce the others to 
consent to our death. Foity leagues above is the river St. 
Croix by which striking northwest you can reach Lake 
Conde (Su})erior). Continuing to ascend the Colbert (jNIis- 
sissippi) twelve leagues more the navigation is interrupted by 
a fall, which I called St. Anthony of Padua's, whom we had 
chosen patron and protector of all our enterprises. Eight 
leagues above St. Anthony to the right we found the river 
Issati, which you can ascend t(; the north for about seventy 
leagues to Lake Issati where it rises. This last lake spreads 
out into greater marshes and is probably the source of the 
Colbert, i.e. Mississippi. We had considered the river 
Colbert with great pleasure, and so far, without hindrance, to 
know how far it M'as navigable u}^ and down. 

" On the 11th of April, 1680, we suddenly perceived thirty- 
three bark canoes manned by a hundred and twenty Indians, 
coming towards us. They soon surrounded us and took us 
prisoners. After remaining captive for several months we 
made our escape and descended the river one hundred and 
twenty leagues distant from the country of the Indians who 
had taken us. We met the Sieur de Luth, who came to the river 
by the land route, with five French soldiers. Towards the end 
of September we resolved to return to the French settlements. 
We chose the route by the way of the Ouisconsin (Wisconsin). 
After sailing up sixty leagues we came to a portage. After 
sailing one hundred leagues we arrived at the bay of Fetid 
(Green Bay). We then sailed a hundred leagues and reached 



28 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Miseilimackinac. After many months we reached Montreal in 
May, 1681." ~~ 

Notes, Colbert is Mississippi river. 
*' Issati is Itasca lake. 
" Ouisconsin is Wisconsin river. 
" Fetid bay, Green bay. 
Fort Creve Coeur was a frontier fort of Canada. 

THE MISSISSIPPI. 

*' The name of the Mississippi river is of itself worthy of 
note. 

If France ever had sufficient title to the Mississippi Valley 
to convey ownership she undoubtedly had authority to name 
the principle river. If this follows then the technically cor- 
rect name of the great river is St. Louis, for in 1712 the King 
of France ordered in letters-patent to Crozat that the river 
* heretofore called Mississippi be called River Saint Louis.' 

But the people on its banks and on the western continent 
gave no heed to the royal decree, though geographers, like 
crAuville, adhered for years to the name of St. Louis. 

Mississippi is from the Ojibbeway tongue and signifies, ac- 
cording to Bishop Baraga, great river or rivers of water from 
flll sides, or by a liberal translation it may be interpreted as 
the savage vernacular for the national motto, E Pluribus 

The first commercial use of the stream was to carry the 
skin-laden skiff, and from that to the row boat and barge the 
transition was easy to the boatmen. But little, however, is 
known of the quantity or the character of traffic early in the 
century. Before the time of steam the barge afforded the 
principle means of river transportation, and the methods of 
its management were primitive, slow, and dangerous. The 
boats were from twenty -five to a hundred feet long Breadth 
of beam from fifteen to twenty feet, and the capacity from 
six to one hundred tons. The receptacle for the freight was 
a large covered coffer, called a cargo box, which occupied 
considerable portion of the bulk. Near the stern was a small, 
straightened apartment six or eight feet in length, in which 
the captain and steersman, or patron were quartered at night. 
Upon the elevated roof of this cabin the steersman stood to 
direct the course of the craft. There were usually two masts, 
sometimes one served the purpose. The main reliance was a 
large, square sail forward, which when the wind was favor- 
able, accelerated the progress of the boat and relieved the 



PIRATES AND BUCCANEERS. 29 

hands, who at other times were compelled to use the most 
laborious methods. 

Going down stream required watchfulness and some inge- 
nuity, and a full knowledge of the fitfulness of the navigable 
currents, but no exhaustive exertion. Up stream, sometimes 
against the wind, through a land of savages, pirates and free- 
booters, the lot of a Mississippi navigator in modern phraseol- 
ogy was not a happy one. 

About fifty men were employed. Sometimes all were row- 
ing, sometimes they towed the boat, after the fashion of the 
old canal boat. But when the banks made this impracticable 
the " warp " was adopted. This was accomplished by send- 
ing a coil of rope forward to some tree on the shore, or 
snag in the river, toward which the hands on board pulled 
the boat. Then another tree or snag was selected, and so on 
to the end. 

There was little poling on the Mississippi, though it was 
sometimes done on account of the depth of the w^ater, the 
strength of the stream, and the yielding nature of the bottom. 
It was pole and warp, and tow and row, and row and tow, and 
pole and warp for months before a cargo from New Orleans 
reached St. Louis. 

Buccaneers invested the mouths of rivers, and the bays, 
creeks and caves afforded places of concealment for them and 
their spoils till the close of the War of 1812, and every 
owner carried his own insurance against flood, robber and fire. 

But it is recorded that the boatmen were scrupulous of 
their trusts, and would fight to protect the consignment, and 
seldom failed to account satisfactorily for everything en- 
trusted to their care. For policy, perhaps, which had as 
much to do then with business rectitude as now. 

The fates and fortunes of the traveler, however, who had 
that about him which excited the cupidity of fearless and un- 
scrupulous men, who knew no law but their own wild wishe^*, 
and who recognized no higher consideration than expedienc}^ 
were not so secure, and many an untold tale of murder and 
mysterious disappearance lies at the bottom of the Mississippi. 
Waves never babble or gossip. One, of many instances, must 
suflSce: Cotton Wood Creek and Grand Tower were well 
known places of rendezvous for pii'ates who would attack voy- 
agers from some such place, drive them off, and then appro- 
priate their valuables. 

Early in 1787 an event occurred which inaugurated severe 
measures by the Spanish government, resulting in dispersing 
the pirates. 



30 Gould's history of river navigation. 

One, Beausoliel, a New Orleans merchant, started for St. 
Louis with a richly laden barge. A strong breeze arose as 
she approached Cotton Wood Creek. Ihe pirates were 
ready for an attack, but the rapid progress under a strong 
breeze frustrated their design, and they sent a body of men to 
head off the prize. 

The point selected for an attack was an island since known 
as Beausoliel's Island, and was reached in about two days. The 
barge had landed and was easily captured and the crew dis- 
armed. When the captors turned the boat down stream, 
soon after which a happy deliverance came from an unex- 
pected source. 

Casotta, a negro, who had effected great pleasure at the 
capture, was used by the freebooters as a cook. He kept up a 
secret understanding with Beausoleil, and at a given signal and 
an opportune moment the captured became the captors and 
all the pirates were killed or secured. Vigorous measures fol- 
lowed. Trips were made in fleets, well armed for fight, and 
within a short time the robber haunts were vacated. 

In those days of flat boats and barges and endless time, the 
freight from New Orleans to St. Louis was on an average 
about $6.75 per one hundred pounds. 

After the establishment of military posts on the Ohio river, 
by Congress, no regular intercourse was kept with them by 
the government. Mail routes could not be contracted beyond 
Pittsburg. All communications of importance was made 
through expresses, either on land through the wilderness, by 
way of Virginia and Kentucky, or by transient boats on the 
Ohio river. 

As this mode was slow, expensive and uncertain. Colonel 
Timothy Pickering, the Postmaster-General, deemed it 
advisable to establish a more regular and certain mode of 
communication with General Wayne and the army on the 
Western frontier. The first mail route across the Alleghany 
mountains was ordered by Congress in 1786, from Alexan- 
dria, in Virginia, to Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, by way of 
Lewisburg, Winchester, Fort Cumberland and Bedford, 
also, from Philadelphia to the town of Bedford, and thence 
to Pittsburg. 

On the 20th of May, 1788, Congress resolved that the 
Postmaster-General be directed to employ posts for the reg- 
ular transport of the mail between the city of Philadelphia 
and the town of Pittsburg, by the way of Lancaster, York, 
Carlisle, Chambersburg and Bedford, and that the mail be 
dispatched once in each fortnight from the post-offices re- 
spectively. 



OHIO ElVEii MAIL CARRIERS. 31 



CHAPTER YIII. 

TIRST UNITED STATES MAIL SERVICE ON THE OHIO BY BOAT. 

IN April, 1794, with the aid and advice of Colonel O'Harra, 
army contractor, and Mayor Isaac Craig, of Pittsburs;, a 
plan was devised of transporting the mail in light, strong 
boats on the Ohio river, and put into operation early in the 
following June. 

These boats were about twenty-four feet in length, made 
after the style of whale boats, and steered with a rudder. 
They were manned by five boatmen, viz.: a coxswain and 
four oarsmen. The men were all armed and their pieces 
kept dry in snug boxes along side of their seats. " The whole 
could be covered wiih a tarpaulin in wet weather, which each 
boat carried for that purpose. For cooking and sleeping they 
generally landed on the beach at the head of an island, where 
they would be less liable to a surprise or an attack from the 
Indians. 

In ascending, as well as descending, the boat was kept nearly 
in the middle of the river. The distance traveled against the 
current averaged about thirty miles a day, and double that 
down stream. 

There were tour relays between Wheeling and Cincinnati. 
The mail was carried by land from Pittsburg and Wheeling. 
The station where the boats met and exchanged mails, were 
Marietta, Gallipolis and Limestone, the distance between 
which was made in seven days both up and down ; thus re- 
quiring about twelve days from Cincinnati to Wheeling, and 
about half that time from Wheeling to Cincinnati. 

The transport by land only required one day and two fast 
riders who exchanged mails at Washington, Pennsylvania. 
Postmasters vveie appointed at each of these towns so that 
the citizens could have the advnntage of the establishment as 
well as the militiiry. The postmaster at jMarietta was Cap- 
tain Joseph Munroe, an old soldier in the "continental line," 
during the war. 

This mode of carrying the mail was kept up until 1798. 
After the treaty with the Indians in 1798, the mail was landed 
at Graham's Station, a few miles above Limestone, and trans- 
ported to Cincinnati on horseback. So cautious were the 
conductors of these boats generally that only one attack was 
made upon them by the Indians. This happened in 1794 to a 
-boat commanded by Capt. Diegan, but at that time com- 



32 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

manded by another man, employed for that trip. The packet 
was ascending the Ohio, and happened to have several pas- 
sengers on board, as they sometimes did, and had reached 
within a few miles of the mouth of the Scioto, on the Indian' 
shore. The man at the helm saw, as he thought, a deer in 
the bushes, and heard it rustling in the leaves. With the in- 
tention of killing it the boat had approached within a few 
rods of the bank, and the man at the bow had risen up with 
his gun to fire, when they received a whole volley from the 
Indians who lay in ambush, and had made these signs to en- 
tice them to the shore. One man was killed, and another des- 
perately wounded. Several of the row-locks were shot off, 
and their oars for the time rendered useless. The Indians 
rushed down the bank and into the water, endeavoring ta 
get hold of the boat and drag it to the shore. The steersman 
turned the bow into the current and one or two oars forced 
her into the stream, beyond the reach of their shot. One of 
the hands who had been a drummer in St. Clair's army, and 
had probably witnessed the effect of the Indian yell, became 
so alarmed that he jumped into the river as the boat was turn- 
ins from the shore. A stout Indian dashed into the river and 
swam after him, with his drawn knife in his teeth. Wilbur's 
pantaloons being thick and heavy, impeded his swimming so 
much that the Indian gained rapidly upon him. He made an 
attempt to pull them off and got one leg free, but sank under 
the water while doing it. He was now worse off than before, 
as they dragged behind and nearly paralyzed all his efforts. 
The Indian was within a few yards of him, and escape seemed 
hopeless, when making another desperate effort he succeeded 
in freeing himself from the incumbrance. In accomplishing 
this last struggle he again sank entirely beneath the surface, 
and came up greatly exhausted, with the Indian within strik- 
ing distance of him. As the enemy slackened his exertions to 
draw his knife from his teeth and give the fatal stab, Wilbur 
now having his legs free, and quickened by the sight of the 
gleaming blade upraised in the hand of the Indian, threw all 
his remaining strength into one convulsive effort, and forced 
himself beyond the reach of the descending knife, which; 
plunged harmless into the water, within a few inches of his 
body. Before his enemy could repeat the blow he was sev- 
eral feet ahead of him and nearly in the middle of the river. 
The Indian novv gave up the pursuit, and retreated to the 
shore. Nearly exhausted by fear and fatigue, and chilled by, 
the coldness of the water, Wilbur reached the opposite bank 
with great diiSculty. 



MAIL SERVICE RESUMED. 33 

In the meantime the boatmen, thinking him killed or 
drowned, pushed down stream and did not land until they 
reached the next station, some fifty miles below. Wilbur, 
however, made himself a raft, and descended to Graham's in 
safety. By this disaster, the line of communication was in- 
terrupted for a trip or two ; but was soon after resumed and 
not broken again except by the ice in winter, when the boats 
were laid up for a few weeks until the system was abandoned 
in 1798, for the more feasible one by land. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE FIRST VESSEL TO ENTER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM 

THE SEA. 

JANUARY 6, 1700, M. d'lberville, in command of the 
French frigate Renommee, and the Gironde, anchored 
off Ship Island. In a few days he determined to enter the 
mouth of the Mississippi on an exploring expedition. He left 
the ships in three long boats, manned by sixty men, and after 
coasting along for thirty leagues entered the mouth of the 
river, the 15th. On February ID we arrived at a large village 
of the Bayou Goula Indians, whom we found to be very 
friendly. They supplied us with Indian meal, fish and meats. 
After three days' rest we commenced the ascent against a 
strong cuiTent. About five leagues above, on the right hand 
side, came to the Manchac; five leagues above this stream we 
came to where the banks of the river are very high, called 
" Ecores," and in the Indian language " Istrouma," which 
signifies Baton Rouge, because at that place there is a post 
painted red, which the Indians have placed there to mark the 
boundary line of the territory of the two nations. About fif- 
teen leagues from this place, we arrived at a large river called 
Sabloniere (Red River). On March 10 arrived at the great 
Natchez bluffs, where M. d'lberville made a treaty of peace 
with this tribe of Indians. On April 12 left Natchez and, 
after hard rowing and cordelling, we arrived on April 16 at 
the Tensas. 

As the period of M. d'lberville' s return to France was rap- 
idly approaching, he resolved to descend the river. We set 
off the next morning. We progressed rapidly with the strong 

3 



34 ooctld's history or river navigation. 

current of the river, and in a few days arrived at the Bayou 
Goulas, where we found a gunboat which M. De Bienville had 
brought from Biloxi with material for the construction of a 
fort. M. De Bienville in descending from Natchez on his 
route to Biloxi met, on the 16th of September, a small English 
frioate careened in a bend of the river about three leao-ues in 
circuit. He demanded of the captain what he was doing in 
the Mississippi, and if he was not aware the French had al- 
ready established themselves in this country. The English- 
man was much astonished, and replied that he was ignorant of 
the fact and soon after retraced his steps to the sea. It was 
from this circumstance that the bend of the river was after- 
ward called the English Turn. This frigate was commanded 
by Capt. Barr, and was fitted out in 1698 by the English with 
instructions to take possession of Louisiana and establish a 
colony on the banks of the Mississippi. 

INI. d'lberville commenced at this place the building of a 
fort, and placing his brother, M. de Bienville, in command, 
he returned to Biloxi, followed by two of our long boats and 
five French Canadians, who, hearing of our establishment at 
Biloxi, had come to trade with us. He made us row night 
and day until we reached the ships. He set sail for France 
on May 3, 1700. But before his departure he recommended 
j\I. de Sauvol to place twenty men under the command of M. 
le Sueur to go to the copper mines in the country of the Sioux 
about nine hundred leagues from the mouth of the river, and 
above the Fall of St. Anthony. It was at the village Bayou 
Goulas that Iberville found the following letter from Tonti to 
La Salle, dated April 20, 1685, which the Indian chiefs had 
carefully preserved : 

" Sir — Having found the column on which you placed the 
arms of France thrown down, I caused a new one to be erected 
about seven leagues from the sea. All nations have sung the 
Calumet. These people fear us extremely since your attack 
on theh' village. I close by saying that it gives me great un- 
easiness to be obliged to return under the misfortune of not 
having found you." 

Two canoes have examined the coast thirty leagues toward 
Mexico and twenty-five toward Florida. This chief of the 
Bayou Goulas had also some engravings, a New Testament, a 
gun and a letter which were given to him by M. de Tonti, all 
of which he had preserved with great care during these years 
from 1685 to 1700. 



PEATH or DE SOTO. 85 



THE FIRST BOAT — 1541. 

The following is given as an authentic account of the first 
vessel built upon the banks of the Mississippi River by white 
men : — 

" Hernando DeSoto, in his expedition from Florida in 1541, 
discovered the Mississippi in this same year. He had with him 
620 men and 223 horses. Upon his arrival at the great river 
he desired to cross to the western shore, and for this purpose 
he commanded his ofl5cers to have constructed four large 
pirogues, capable of carrjnng seventy or eighty men each and 
five or six horses. With these vessels he made the passage of 
the great river. DeSoto now determined to seek new Spain 
by traveling west, but after many months of great hardships 
he retraced his steps toward the great river, arriving at a point 
near the mouth of the Arkansas. Here, on may 21, 1542, he 
died. As soon as he was dead. Lays de Moscosa, his Captain 
General, commanded his body to be wound up in mantels, 
•wherein he was carried in a canoe and thrown into the midst 
of the river. After the burial of DeSoto Lays de Moscosa de 
Alvarado called together his followers and they determined to 
seek the sea by way of the great river and find the coast of 
Mexico. 

" The General then commanded them to commence building 
brigantines. He ordered them to gather all the chains to- 
gether, which every one had to lead Indians in, and to gather 
all the iron which they had in the camp, and to set up a forge 
and make nails, and commanding them to cut down timber 
for the brigantines. A Portuguese of Centa had learned to 
saw timber with a long saw, which for such purposes they had 
carried with them, and he did teach others, which helped him 
to saw the timber. And a Geneves, who had learned to build 
ships, with four or five Biscayan carpenters, who hewed the 
planks and other timbers, made the brigantines. And two 
caulkers, the one of Geneva, the other of Sardinia, did caulk 
them with a tow of an herb like hemp, and because there was 
not enough of it, they caulked them with the flax of the 
country. A cooper they had among them made for every 
brigantine two hogsheads, to hold water. The provision of 
the vessels was maize, the flesh of horses and hogs, which they 
dried for the voyages. On the 2d day of July they departed 
from the Arkansas with seven brigantines and 322 Spaniards. 

After twenty days descending the river they reached the 



36 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

sea, or Gulf of Mexico, The 18th of Jul}', 1543, they went 
forth to sea. From the time that they put out of the Ilia 
Grande or Mississippi until the}^ arrived in the River of Panuco, 
or Mexico, was tifty-two days. They came into the River 
Panuco the 10th of September, 1543. They went up the 
river, and in four days arrived at the town of Panuco; all of 
them were appareled in deer skins, tanned and dyed a dark 
color. After reUiaining at Panuco for some days the Viceroy 
of Mexico, Don Ant(tnio de Mendoco, sent an order that they 
should be brought to the City of Mexico ; upon their arrival 
atthecit}^ every provision was made for them by the Viceroy,, 
and those that desired it were sent home to Spain. 

<' This is a narrative by a gentleman of Elvas in 1557. 

WM. LONGSTREET ANTEDATES ROBERT FULTON SEVEN YEARS. 

A correspondent of the Savannah (Ga.) Recorder writes as 
follows : — 

"Atlanta, Ga., Sept, 1. 

" In looking over some of the letters on file in the archives 
of the State, I find one from Wm. Longstreet, the grand- 
father of Judge Longstreet, which I copy and send you. It 
will be seen by this letter that Wm. Longstreet, on the 25th 
day of September, 1790, pro})Osed and was running a steam- 
boat on the Savannah River, near Augusta, Ga., and this date 
was seven years before Fulton had his s«teamboat. 

" If this be true, Georgia, and not New York, is entitled to 
the credit of having the first steamboat in her waters : — 

*" Augusta, Ga., Sept. 2o, 1790. 

*' ' Sir — I make no doubt but you have often heard of my 
steamboat, and as often heard it laughed at. But in this I 
have only shared the fate of all other projectors, for it has 
uniformly been the custom of every country to ridicule even 
the greatest inventions until use had proved their utility. 

" ' In not reducing my scheme to practice has been a little 
unfortunate for me. I confess (and perhaps the people in 
general), but until very latel}^ I did not thiidv that either 
artists or materials could be had in this place sufficient. 

"' However, necessity — that grand source of invention — 
has furnished me with an idea of perfecting my plan, almost 
entirely with wooden materials, and by such workmen as may 
be got here; and, from a thorough confidence of its success,. 
1 propose to ask your assistance and patronage. 



loxgstueet's letter. 37 

" • Should it succeed agreeably to my expectation, I hope I 
shall discover that sense of duty which such favors always 
merit, and should it not succeed, your reward must lay with 
other unlucky adventurers. 

*' ' For me to mention to you all the advantages arising from 
such a machine Avould be tedious, and, indeed, unnecessary. 
Therefore 1 have t:d<:en the liberty just to state in this plain, 
humble manner, my wish and opinion, which I hope you will 
excuse, and I shall remain, either with or without your appro- 
bation, your Excellency's most obedient and very humble 
servant. Wm. Longstreet. 

*" To his Excellency Edward Telfair.' " 

" ST. PAUL'S SHIP. " 
TALES OF SHIPS AND SHIPPING. 

Under the above head Gath wrote in the Cincinnati En- 
quirer of a recent date as follows : 

"The first boats we suppose to have been hollow logs and 
rafts, and the ingenious Mr. Lindsay, who has made a long 
history of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, thinks 
that the Ark, if it ever existed, was simply a raft of stupend- 
ous size, roofed with a big warehouse, and, as described by 
Scripture, no bigger than the ordinary sailing vessels on the 
North Atlantic at the present time. The registered tonnage 
of the Ark was less than 15,000 tons, and therefore the Great 
Eastern was a colossus in comparison. 

" The old Assja'ian monuments show people crossing rivers 
on inflated skins. The early Britians appear to have used 
basket-work, around which they had flannel wrapped, or 
leather. It is said that bitumen from the Babylon region was 
exported to Egypt in vessels 1500 years before Jesus. Among 
the earliest vessels known here was one called the Balza, on 
the west coast of South America, a raft of logs which carried 
twenty tons. 

*' The Homeric vessels were only large open boats, with a 
kind of a half-deck inside to shelter some people. 

" Pounded sea-shells were first introduced into the seams 
and chinks of boats, and afterward pounded seeds, and finally 
pitch and wax. An old ship of Trajan, pulled up from a 
Roman lake, shows that the Romans also sheathed their ships. 
The names of punt and galley, skiff, etc., have a very high 
antiquity. The first vessels which carried horses were called 
Hipagogi. A picture of St. Paul's ship by Mr. Smith who 



38 Gould's history of river navigation. 

was both a believer and a boat builder, sliows that she was 
somethino; like a life-boat or batteau, with a sort of railins: 
around her top, and two masts ; she carried a cargo of grain 
and 27G people; she probably had two decks besides a high 
poop and forecastle. 

" They steered vessels for a long time by means of oars, 
and the first vessels had square sails. The first anchors were 
big stones, but St. Paul's ship carried four ancliors. In the 
time of Alexander the Great they had chain cables for these 
anchors. The first important grain ships were built to carry 
Egyptian grain to Italy for the supply of the Romans. 

" Ancient mariners used the gnomen to get the leufrth of 
the sun's shadow at noon. 

" The Phoenician galleys often had fifty oars in them, rower 
s'tting above rower, with oars longer and longer, so that they 
all could pull at once; and they sometimes rowed twenty-six 
days without going ashore. * * * The river Nile has but 
few branches but many mouths; hence the mouths were 
worked out to make canals of them, and one of these canals 
was about 350 miles long, or about the size of the Erie Canal. 
The Egyptian sailors were Nile boatmen, and Herodotus says 
that there was 700,000 of these employed at one time, and 
they lived on the boats and held fairs and markets there. 

" The habit the Egyptians had of using the double yard to 
keep the sail flat was unconsciously adopted by the Americans, 
who by the same process beat the English with the yacht 
America. 

" The Egyptians put houses on their decks like American 
steamboats. After Alexander conquered Egypt the City of 
Alexandria became the New York of the Old \\'orld, and, like 
New York, a great lighthouse was put up, called Pharos, at 
Alexandria, which cost 800 talents. It had fires lighted in its 
top stories at night to guide ships. The port of Berenice 
was made on the Ked Sea to facilitate shipments across to^ 
Alexandria on the Meditei'raneau. 

" Though the Egyptians were poor sailors, the}^ built some 
good vessels, and one of these, owned by Ptolemy, is said ta 
have been 420 feet long, 57 feet beam and 72 feet in depth of 
hold, or about as big as the largest steamships of our day. A 
picture of this vessel represents her as steered by oars, with a 
straight gunwale, two or three decks on her poop and her bow 
rising high and elaborately carved. These figures are be- 
lieved to be wrong, at least as far as the depth of hold is con- 
cerned. 

*' A fine galley was built by one of the Ptolemys, which 



EGTPTION NAVIGATIAN. 39 

contained their bed-chamber, and this vessel was 300 feet 
long, luxurious as a North river steamboat and contained col- 
onnades, marble stairs and gardens." 



A. CONDENSED HISTORY OF STEAM. 

•• About 280 years B. C, Hero, of Alexandria, formed a toy 
which exhibited some of the powers of steam, and was moved 
by its power. 

A. D. 540 an architect arranged several cauldrons of water, 
each covered with the wide bottom of a leather tube, which 
rose to a narrow top, with the pipes extending to the rafters 
of the adjoining building. A fire was kindled beneath the 
cauldron, and the house was shaken with the effects of the 
steam ascending the tubes. This is the first notice of the 
power of steam recorded. 

In 1543, June 17, Basca de Garay tried a steamboat of 200 
tons with tolerable success at Barcelona, Spain. It consisted 
of a cauldron of boiling water and a movable wheel on each 
side of the ship. It was laid aside as impracticable. A pres- 
ent, however, was made to Garay. 

In 1630 the first railroad was constructed at Newcastle-on- 
the-Tyne. 

The first idea of a steam engine in England was in the 
Marquis of Worcester's " History of Invention," A. D. 
1(JG3. ♦ 

In 1701 Newermann made the first steam engine in En- 
gland. 

In 17()4 James Watt made the first perfect steam engine in 
England. 

In 1766 Jonathan Hulls first set forth the idea of steam 
navigation. 

In 1778 Thomas Payne first proposed the application in 
America. 

In 1781 Marquis Jouffrey constructed a steamboat on the 
Saone. 

In 1785 two Americans published a work upon it. 

In 1789 William Symington made a voyage in one on the 
Forth and Clyde canal. 

In 1802 this experiment was repeated. 

In 1782 Ramsey propelled a boat by steam at New York. 

In 1789 John Fitch, of Connecticut, navigated a boat by 
steam on the Delaware." 



40 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

In 1784 Robert Fulton first began to apply his attention to 
steam . 

In 1783 Oliver Evans, a native of Philadelphia, constructed 
a steam engine to travel a turnpike road. 

The first steam vessel that crossed the Atlantic was the 
Savannah, in the month of June, from Charleston, S. C, to 
Liverpool. 

In the New Orleans Gazette of July 23, 1807, may be found 
the following advertisement: — 

*« For Louisville, Kentucky. 

*« THE HORSE BOAT, JOHN BROOKHART, MASTER. 

*« She is completely fitted for the voyage. For freight of 
a few tons only ( having the greater part of her cargo engaged), 
apply to the master on board or to 

" Sanderson & White." 

The trip was begun but never completed. Before arriving 
at Natchez some twelve or twenty horses were used up on the 
treadwheel, and the voyage was abandoned near that city. 
We republish this as an illustration of the expedients to which 
the earlier settlers of the Mississippi Valley were compelled 
to resort in carrying on commerce with the interior. It was 
easy enough to get from Louisville to New Orleans, and 
carry produce there, but getting the productions of the trop- 
ics to Louisville quite another matter. 

** Virginia City, September 19. 
*' To THE Editor of the St. Louis Repuplican: 

" Dear iSir — Will you please inform me through the col- 
umns of your valuable i)aper when and whereabouts the 
steamboat " Sultana," used for transportmg of troops, was 
blown up. 

" By so doing you will oblige yours, very respectfully, 

" Ernest Braun, 
" Virginia City, Nevada." 

In the early part of the spring of 18B4 (it was about the 
12th of March we believe), the steamer Sultana left Memphis 
late at night, with upwards of 2,400 souls aboard. When she 
had proceeded to a point just above a group of little islands 
called Paddy's Hen and Chickens, about seven miles above 
that city, it is believed the whole battery of five boilers ex- 
ploded at the same time. Subsequently the boat took fire 
and was burned to the surface of the water, and the hull sank 



EXPLOSION ON STEAMER SULTANA. 41 

on a bar close to Bradley's Landing. By this terrible 
catastrophe more than two thousand lives were lost. It was 
the most destructive marine disaster that ever occurred since 
rivers and oceans have been sailed over by men. 



CHAPTEE X. 

COL. PLUG, MIKE FINK AND OTHERS. 

JN a book published at Louisville in 1852, " The History of 
Louisville," by Ben. Cassaday, may be found some in- 
teresting matter rehiting to the early navigation of the Ohio 
by barges and other primitive modes. 

"In the winter of this year (1780) commenced the first of 
anything like intercourse between this part of the Ohio and 
New Orleans. 

" Messrs. Tardinen and Honore, the latter of whom resided 
in this city until Avithin a few years, made the earliest trip 
from Brownville to New Orleans and subsequently continued 
to make regular trips from Louisville to the French and 
Spanish posts on the Mississippi. 

" Even previous to this, Col. Richard Taylor and liis 
brother Hancock Taylor, had descended from Pittsburg to the 
mouth of the Yazoo, and Messrs. Gibson and Linn, in 1776, 
had made a trip from Pittsburg to New Orleans with a view of 
procuring military stores for the troops stationed at the for- 
mer place. These gentlemen succeeded in their expectations, 
having obtained 15(3 kegs of powder, which arrived at the 
falls in 1777, was carried around them by hand and finally de- 
livered at Pittsburg. 

" These early attempts at navigation were soon succeeded 
by the constant and reguhir trips of the barges. Perhaps the 
most exciting and stirring scenes of Western adventure were 
connected with these peculiar craft." 

The bargemen were a distinct class of people, whose fear- 
lessness of character, recklessness of habits and laxity of 
morals, rendered them a marked people. Their history will 
hereafter form the ground-work of many a heroic romance or 
epic poem. In the earlier stages of this sort of navigation, 
the trips were dangerous not only on account of the Indians, 
whose hunting grounds boifnded their track on either side, but 



42 Gould's history of river navigation. 

also because the shores of both rivers were infested with or- 
ganized bands of banditti, who sought every occasion to rob 
and murder the owners of these boats. Besides all this, the 
Spanish government had forbidden the navigation of the 
lower Mississippi by the Americans. 

And thus hedged in every way by danger, it became these 
boatmen to cultivate all the hardihood and wildness of the 
pioneer, while it also led them into the possession of that reck- 
lessness and independent freedom of manner which, even 
after the causes that produced it had ceased, still clung to, and 
formed an integral part of the Western bargeman. 

It is a matter of no little surprise that something like an 
authentic history of these wonderful men has never been 
written. Certainly it is desirable to preserve such history, 
and no book could have been undertaken which would be- 
likely to produce more both of pleasure and profit to the 
writer, and none which would meet with a larger circle of de- 
lighted readers. The traditions on the subject are, even at 
this recent period, so vague and contradictory that ii would 
be difficult to procure auj'thino; like reliable or authentic data 
in reijard to them. No story in which the baroemen figure 
is too improbable to be narrated. Nor can one determine 
what particular person is the hero of an incident which is in 
turn laid at the door of each distinguished member of the 
whole fraternity. Some of these incidents, however, will 
serve so well to give an idea of the peculiar characters of the 
bargemen, and possess so much merit in themselves, that they 
cannot be omitted here. 

Previous to referring to any of these anecdotes it may be 
interesting to introduce the following excellent description of 
the manner of navigating the Ohio and Mississippi prior to 
the introductionof steamboats. It is from the pen of Audubon, 
the celebrated ornithologist, whose death has caused a deep 
feeling of regret in all who know how to admire that union 
of simple goodness of character with greatness of mind and 
untiring energy of study, which he, perhaps more than any 
other American, posse>sed. 

The keel boats and barges were employed, says this extract, 
in conveying produce of different kinds, such as lead, flour, 
pork and other articles. These returned laden with sugar, 
coffee and dr}^ goods suited for the markets of Genevieve and 
St. Louis on the Upper Mississip})i, or branched off and as- 
cended the Ohio to the foot of the falls at Louii^ville. A keel 
boat was generally manned by a crew of ten hands, princi- 
pally Canadian French, and a patroon or master. These- 



AUDUBON'S ACCOUNT OF KEEL-BOATING. 43- 

boats seldom carried more than from twenty to thirty tons. 
The barges had frequently from forty to fifty men, with a 
patroon, and carried fifty or sixty tons. 

Both these kind of vessels were provided with a mast, a 
square sail, and coils of cordage known by the name of " cor- 
delles." Each boat or barge carried its own provisions. We 
shall suppose one of these boats under way, and having passed 
Natchez, entering upon what was called the difficulties of their 
ascent. Wherever a point projected so as to render the course 
or bend below it of some magnitude, there was an eddy, the 
returnins: current of which was sometimes as strono; as that of 
the middle of the great stream. The barge, therefore, rowed 
up pretty close under the bank and had merely to keep w^atch 
in the bow, lest the boat should run against a planter or 
sawyer. But the boat has reached the point, and the current 
is there, to all appearance, double strength, and right against 
it. The men, who have rested a few minutes, are ordered to 
take their station and lay hold of fheir oars, for the river must 
be crossed, it being seldom possible that such a point can be 
doubled and proceed along the same shore. 

The boat is crossing;, its head slanting to the current which 
is, however, too strong tor the rowers, and when the other 
side of the river has been reached, it has drifted perhaps a 
quarter of a mile. 

The men are by this time exhausted, and as we suppose it 
to be twelve o'clock, fasten the boat to a tree on shore. 

A small glass of whisky is given to each when they cook 
and eat their dinner, and after resting from their fatijijue for 
an hour, recommence their labors. 

The boat is seen asfain slowly advancing ajTainst the stream. 

It has reached the lower end of a sandbar, along the edge 
of which it is propelled by means of long poles, if the bottom 
be hard. 7\vo men, called bowsmen, reniain at the bow, to 
assist, in concert with the steersman, in managing the boat, 
and keeping the head right against the current. The rest place 
themselves on the land side of the foot-way of the vessel, put 
one end of their poles on the ground, and the other against 
their shoulders, and push with all their might. 

As each of the men reaches the stern, he crosses to the 
other side, runs alonof it and comes to the landward side of 
the bow, when he recommences the operation. The barge, in 
the meantime, is ascending at the rate not exceeding one mile 
the hour. 

The bar is at length passed, and as the shore is straight in 
sight on both sides, and the current uniformly strong ; the 



44 Gould's history of river navigation. 

poles are laid aside and the men being equally divided, those 
on the riverside take to the oars while those on the other side 
lay hold of branches of willows or other trees, and thus 
slowly propel the boat. 

Here and there, however, the trunk of a fallen tree, laying 
partly on the bank and partly in the water, impedes their 
progress, and requires to be doubled. This is performed by 
striking into it with the iron points of the poles and gaff 
hooks, and propelling around it. The sun is now (|uite low 
and the barge is ao;ain secured in the best harbor within reach 
for the night, after having accomplished a distance of per- 
haps fifteen miles. The next day the wind proves favorable, 
the sails are set and the boat takes all the advantages, and 
meeting with no accidents has ascended thirty miles — perhaps 
double that distance. 

The next day comes with a very different aspect. The 
wind is right ahead, the shores without trees of any kind, and 
the cane on the bank so thick and stout that not even the 
cordelles can be used. This occasions a halt. The time is not 
altogether lost, as most of the men being provided with rifles 
take to the woods and search for the deer, the turkej'^ or the 
bear which are generally abundant. Three days may pass 
before the wind changes, and the advantages gained on the 
previous five clays are forgotten. 

Again the boat advances, but in passing over a shallow 
place runs on a log and swings with the current, but hangs 
fast, Avith her lea side almost under the water. Now for the 
poles; all hands are on deck, bristling and pushing. At 
length, towards sunset, the boat is once more afioat and is again 
taken to the shore where the Aveary crew pass another night. 

I could tell you of the crew abandoning the boat, and of 
numberless accidents and perils. But enough to say advanc- 
ing in this tardy manner, the boat that left New Orleans on 
the first of INIarch often did not reach the falls of the Ohio 
until the month of July — sometimes not until October — 
and after all this immense trouble it brought only a few 
bags of coffee, and at most one hundred hogsheads of 
sugar. Such was the state of things as late as 1808. The 
number of barges at that period did not amount to more than 
twenty or thirty, and the largest probably did not exceed one 
hundred tons burden. 

To make the best of this fatiguing navigation, I may con- 
clude by saying a bai-ge that came up in three months had 
done wonders, for, I believe very few voyages were made 
in that time. 



OUTLAWS ON THE OHIO. 45 



CHAPTER II. 

IN this little history Mr. Audubon has said nothing of what 
was by far the most "dangerous danger," to which the 
crews of these crafts were exposed, This was the attack, open 
and fearless, as well as sneaking and treacherous, to the boat- 
men. 

The countr}' on both sides of the river from Louisville to 
the moulh of the Ohio, was almost an unpeopled wilderness. 
On the nortli side of the river from Fort Massac there lay a 
gang of these desperadoes, whose exploits need only the ge- 
nius of a Schiller to render them the wonder of the world and 
the admiration of those who love to gloat over tales of blood. 
There was an independence and a recklessness of life and of 
danger connected with these fellows, with a dash of spirit and 
humor, that would render them excellent malerial in the 
hands of a skillful novelist. But they lacked that high sense 
of honor, and that gentlemanly bearing, whirh made heroes 
of the robbers of the Rhine, of Venice, or of Mexico. Their 
plan of action was to induce the crew of the passing "broad- 
horn " to land to plaj' a game of cards (the favorite pas- 
time of the boatmen), and to cheat them unniercifully. If 
this scheme failed they would pilot the boats into a difficult 
place, or, in pretended friendship give them from the shore 
such direction as would not fail to run them on a snao; or dash 
them to pieces on some hidden obstruction. 

If they were outwitted in all this, they Avould creep into the 
boats when tiiey were tied up at night, and bore holes in the 
bottom, or scrape out the caulking. When the boat was 
sinking they would get out skiffs and crafts of all kinds and 
in the most philanthropic manner, come to save the goods 
from wreck; and save them tliey did, for they would row 
them up snuill creeks that led from swamps into the interior 
and no trace of them could afterwards be found; or, if somo 
hardy fellow dared to go in pursuit of his saved cargo, he was 
sure to find an unknown grave in the morasses. 

One of the most famous of these boatwreckers was Col. 
Fluger, of New Hampshire, who is better known in the West 
as "Col. Plug." 

This worthy gentleman long held undisputed sway over the 
quiet wreckers about the mouth of Cash Creek. He was sup- 
posed to possess the keys to every warehouse between thea 
place and Louisville, and to have them for his own privatt 



46 Gould's history of river navigation. 

purposes on many occasions. He was a married man and be- 
came the father of a family. His wife's soubriquet was 
Pluo;gy, and like many others of her sex, her charms were a 
sore affliction to the Colonel's peace of mind. . Plug's lieu- 
tenant was suspected of making familiarity with Mrs. Colonel 
Plug. 

The Colonel's wise sense of honor was outraged, his fam- 
ily pride aroused. 

He called Lieutenant Nine-eyes to the field. " Dern your 
soul, do you think this sort of candlestick amraer (chindes- 
tine amour, he meant) will pass? If you do, by gosh, I will 
put it to you, or you shall to me." 

They used rities. The ground was measured, the affair waa 
settled in the most approved style. And they did put it to 
each other. 

Each received a ball in some flesh}^ part, and each admitted 
that he was satisfied. 

" You are all grit," said Col. Plug. 

" And you waded in like a real Keutuck," rejoined Nine- 
eyes. 

Col. Plug's son and heir, who was, very possibly, the sub- 
ject matter of dispute, and who was upon the ground, was 
ordered to place a bottle of whisky midway between the dis- 
putants. 

Up to this they limped, and over it they embraced, swearing 
they were too well used to these things to be plugged by a 
little cold lead. And Pluggy's virtue having been thus proved 
immaculate, the duel as well as the animosities of the parties 
ceased. 

Col. Plug, man of honor as he was, sometimes met with 
very rough treatment from the boatmen, whose half savage 
natures could ill appreciate a gentleman of his birth and breed- 

An instance of this is recorded by the same historian, upon 
whom we have drawn for the greater part of the account of 
the duel, A broadhorn from Louisville had received rouo^h 
usage from Plug's men the year before, and , accordingly, on 
their next descent, they laid their scheme of revenge. Sev- 
eral of the crew left the boat before they arrived at Plugs' 
domain, and quietly stole down the bank at its place of land- 
ing. 

The boat with its small crew was quietly landed. The men 
hospitably received, and invited to sitdown to a game of cards. 

They were scarcely seated and placed their money before 
them, when Plug's signal whistle sounded in their ears for an 



TRAGIC END OF COL. PLUG. 47 

attack. The reserve corps of boatmen also heard it, knew its 
import and rushed to the rescue. The battle was quickly over. 

Three of Plug's men were thrown into the river and the 
rest fled, leaving their brave commander on the tield. 

Resistance did not avail him. 

Those worthless boatmen stripped him to the skin, and 
iorced him to embrace a sapling about the size of his Pluggy's 
waist, they bound him immovable to this. 

Then seizing the cowhide, each applied it until he was tired, 
and so they left him alone with his troublesome thoughts and 
with a yet more troublesome host of mosquitoes, which they 
could now get access to with ease. 

Pluggy, finding her lord besieged with those troublesome 
little fellows, sought to relieve and sympathize with him, but 
the only response she received was a curse. 

Not long after this Plug came to his untimely end. Just as 
a squall was coming up he was in a boat, whose crew had left 
it for an hour or two, engaged in the exercise of his profession, 
that is he was dii>o;ins the caulking: out of the bottom, when 
the storm came on rather prematurely, and broke the fast- 
nings of the boat. It began to sink, and after several vain 
efforts to reach the shore the valiant Colonel sank with the 
boat and was seen no more. 

This sketch of the character of the boatwreckers will pre- 
pare the reader for forming some idea of the boatmen who 
were their prey. 

Among the most celebrated of those every reader of western 
history will remember 3Iike Fink, the hero of his class. 

iSo many and so marvelous are the stories told of this man 
that numbers of persons are inclined altogether to disbelieve 
his existence. That he did live, however, does not admit of 
a doubt. ]Many are yet living who knew him personally. 

As it is to him that all remarkable stories of western river 
adventures are attributed, his history will form the only 
example here given to illustrate the character of the Western 
l)argeman. 

It is necessary, however, to observe that while Mike possessed 
all the characteristics of his class, a history of all the adven- 
tures attributed to him would present these characteristics in 
an exaggerated degree. Even the slight sketch here drawn 
cannot pretend to authenticity. 

For aside from the fact that, like other heroes, Mike has 
suffered from the exuberant fancy of his historians. 

He has also had in his own person to atone to posterity foi 
many acts which never came from under his hand seal. 



48 GOULD'S HISTOKY OF KIVER NAVIGATION. 

As the representative, however, of an extinct class of mpn 
his ashes will not rise in indignation, even if he 4 'lain mTle 
the hero of - fields his valor never more " ° ' 

Mike Fuik was born in or near Pittsburg, where certain of 
bis relatives still reside. In his earlier cap icity he acted as 
an Ind.an spy and won great renown for himself by tie won 

Of ^^^ i;:::^^^t:?^^r^^ihi^t "- '^ ^--^^^^ 

And the enchanting music of the broadhorn soon allured Mm 
away from Pittsburg to try his fortune on the bro d Ohio 

He had earned to mimic all the tones of the boatman', 
horn, and he longed to go to New Orleans, whe i he e™d 
the people spoke French, and wore their Sunday clothes eterv 
day. He went, and from an humble pupil in his n r^fe' mf 
soon became a glorious master. Plote^.lon, 

When the river was too low to be mvio-ihlo \t;u^ ^ l- 

t.me in rifle-shooting, then so :^::^^£^f^^ Z^ 

t"kin":T^"^'""^'- ^"^^ ^" '''''^ - ^'^ -" his s^r ; s unde ! 
takings, he soon compassed his compeers. His skill wiffh« 
nfle was so universally acknowledged that wheneve mT i w 
present at a shooting-match for beef wh.Vh ? ?k ^^ 

was a perquisite for xAIike's skill VnT. u , ^'^'^ 

part. une ot the most ino-enious of tliP«o <-,.;^i i 

which affords a fair [idea of the spirit of reVaif.?!""" 

and beautiful flock of sheep gracing on the shore, and S 



MIKE FIMi AND THE SHEEP STORY. 49 

in want of provisions, but scorning to buy them, Mike hit 
upon the following expedient: 

He noticed there was an eddy near the shore, and as it wa? 
now dark he moved his boat into the eddy and tied her fast. 
In his cargo there were some bladders of Scotch snuff. Mike 
opened one of these, and taking a handful of the contents he 
went ashore and catching five or six of the sheep, rubbed their 
noses very thoroughly with the snuff. He then returned to his 
boat and sent one of his men in a great hurry to the sheep 
owner's home to tell him he had better come down and see 
what was the matter with his sheep. In going down hastily 
in answer to Mike's summons, the gentleman saw a portion of 
his flock very singularly affected. Floating, bleating and rub- 
bing their noses againt the ground and against each other, and 
performing all manner of undignified antics. 

The gentleman was very sorely puzzled and demanded of 
Mike if he knew what was the matter with his sheep. 

" You don't know?" answered Mike very gravely. 

•'I do not," replied the gentleman. 

" Did you ever hear of the black murrain? " asked Mike in 
a confidential whisper. 

" Yes, " said the sheep owner in a terrified reply. 

*' Well that is it," replied Mike. "All the sheep up the river 
has got it dreadful. Dyin' like rotten dogs, hundreds a 
day." 

" You don't say so, " said the victim. " And is there no 
cure for it?" 

" Only one as I knows of," was the reply. "You see the 
murrain is dreadful catchen', and if you don't get them away 
as is got it, they will kill the whole flock. Better shoot them 
right off, they has got to die any way." 

" But no man could single out the infected sheep and shoot 
them from among the flock," said the man. 

" My name is Mike Fink," was the curt reply. And it was 
answer enough. 

The gentleman begged him to shoot the infected sheep and 
throw them in the river. This was exactly what Mike wanted, 
but he pretended to resist. "Itmoughtbe amistake," he said. 
" They will, maybe, get well. He did not like to shoot many 
sheep on his own say so. He had better go and ask some of 
his neighbors ef it was the murrian sure 'nuf." The gentle- 
man insisted and Mike modestly resisted until he was finally 
promised two gallons of old peach brandy if he would comply. 

His scruples, finally thus overcome, Mike shot the sheep, 
and threw them into the eddy, and got the brandy. 
4 



50 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

After dark the men jumped into the water and hauled the 
sheep on board, and by daylight had them packed away and 
were gliding merrily down the stream. 

(This incident is bj'' some accredited to Wm, Creasy, a 
bargeman of the James river.) 



CHAPTEK XII. 



ANOTHER story is told of rather a different character of 
this resolute man. It occurred on the Mississippi river. 
A negro had come down to the bank to gaze at the passing 
boat, who had the singularly projecting heel, peculiar to some 
races of Africans. This peculiarity caught Mike's ej'e, and so 
far outraged his idea of symmetry that he determined to correct 
it. Accordingly he raised his riHe to his shoulder and fired, 
carrying away the offensive projection. The negro fell, cry 
ing murder, believing himself to be mortally wounded. jSIike 
was apprehended for this trick at St. Louis, and found guilty. 
But we do not hear of the infliction of any punishment. 

A writer in the Western Montldy IlevieiL\ for July, 1829, in 
a letter to the editor of that magazine, asserts that he himself 
has seen the records of this case in the books of the court, and 
Mike's only defense was, that the fellow could not wear a 
genteel boot, and he wanted to fix it so that he could. 

One of the feats with his rifle, of which he used to boast of, 
occurred somewhere in Indiana. 

Mike's boat was laying to, from some cause, and he had 
gone ashore in pursuit of game. As he was creeping along 
with the stealthy tread of a cat, his eye fell upon a fine buclv, 
browsing on the edge of a barren spot, a little distance off. 
Eepriming his rifle and picking the flint, he made his approach 
in his usual noiseless manner. 

At the moment he reached the spot at which he went to take 
aim, he spied a large Indian intent upon the same object, ap- 
proaching from a direction little different from his own. 
Mike shrank behind a tree with the quickness of thought, and 
keeping his eye upon the hunter waited the result with 
patience. In a few moments the Indian halted within fifty 
paces and leveled his piece at the deer. Instantly Mike pre- 
sented his rifle at the body of the savage, and at the moment 
smoke issued from the gun of the latter the bullet of Fink 



FINK, CARPENTER AND TOLBERT. 51 

passed through the red man's breast. He fell dead, uttering 
a yell at the same instant the deer fell. Mike reloaded his 
rifle and remained in cover some minutes to ascertain whether 
any more enemies were at hand. 

He ascertained that the Indian and the deer were both 
dead, when he took the choice parts of the latter and returned 
to his boat, always thereafter claiming he had " killed two 
birds with one stone." 

After the introduction of steamboats on the western waters 
Mike's occupation was gone. He could not consent, however, 
altogether to quit his free, wild life of adventure, and accord- 
ingly, in 1822, he, together with Carpenter and Tolbert, who 
were his firmest friends, joined " Henry and Ashley's " com- 
pany of Missouri trappers, and with this company they pro- 
ceeded, the same year, to the mouth of the Yellowstone 
River. Here a fort was built and from this point parties of 
hunters were sent out in all directions. Mike, with his two 
friends and nine others, formed one of these parties, and pre- 
ferring to live to themselves, the}^ dug a hole in the river 
bluff, and here spent the winter. While here JNIike and Car- 
penter had ^ fierce quarrel, caused, probably by rivalry in 
the favors of a certain squaw. 

Previous to this time the friendship of these two had been 
unbounded. Carpenter was equally as good a shot as Mike, 
and.it had been their custom to [)lace a tin cup of whisky on 
€ach other's head and shoot it off at a distance of seventy 
yards with their rifles. This feat they had often performed 
and always successfully. After the quarrel, and the spring 
had returned, tliey revisited the fort, and over a cup whisky 
they talked over their difiiculty. and renewed their vows of 
amity, which was to be ratified by the usual trial of shooting 
at the tin cup. They skyed a copper for the first shot and 
Mike won it. Carpenter, who knew Mike thoroughly, 
declared he was going to be killed, but scorned to refuse the 
test. He prepared himself for the worst. He bequeathed 
his gun, pistols, wages, etc., to Talbot in case he should be 
killed. They went to the field and while jNIike loaded his 
gun and prepared for the shot, Carpenter filled a tin cup to 
the brim, and without moving a feature, placed it on his 
devoted head. At the target Mike leveled his piece. After 
fixing his arm, he took down his gun and laughingly cried. 
Then raising the gun again he pulled the trigger and in an 
instant Carpenter fell and expired without a groan. 

The ball had entered at the center of the forehead, about an 
inch and a half above the eyes. Mike coolly set down his 



52 Gould's history of river navigation. 

rifle and blew the smoke out of it, keeping his eye fixed upon 
the prostrate body of his quondam friend. " Carpenter," 
said he, "have you spilt the whisky?" He was told that 
he had killed Carpenter. " It's all an accident," said he, " I 
took as fair a bead on the black spot on the cup as ever 
I took on squirrel's eye. How could it happen? " and he fell 
to cursing gun, powder, bullet and himself. 

In the wild country where they were the hand of justice 
could not reach Mike and he went unmolested. But Talbot 
had determined to revenge Carpenter, and one day, after sev- 
eral months had elapsed, when Mike, in a drunken fit, boast- 
ing in Talbot's presence that he had killed Carpenter inten- 
tionally, and that he was glad of it, Talbot drew out one 
of the pistols which had been left him by the murdered man, 
and shot Mike through the heart. In less than four months 
after this Talbot was himself drowned in attempting to swim 
the Titan river, and with him perished " the last of the barge- 
men." 

Mike Fink's person is described by the writer in the 
Western Montldy, before referred to: His weiglit was about 
one hundred and eighty pounds, height about five feet nine 
inches, broad round face, pleasant features, brown skin, tan- 
ned by sun and rain, blue but very expressive eyes, inclining 
to gray, broad white teeth, square brawny form, w^ell pro- 
portioned, every muscle of the arms, thighs and legs per- 
fectly developed, indicating the greatest strength and activity. 
His person, taken altogether, was a model for a Hercules, 
except as to size. Of his character, Mike himself has given 
the best epitome. He used to say: "I can out run, out hop, 
out jump, thrown down, drag out, and lick any man in the 
country. I am a Salt River roarer, I love the wiinen, and am, 
chock full of fight." 



LIFE OF EARLY BOATMEN. 63 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

[From Sharf s History of St. Louis and County.] 

REFERRING to the character of the vogageurs or boatmen 
on the western rivers before the introduction of steam- 
boats, is the following: — 

"The'boatmen were a class by themselves, a hardy, adven- 
turous, muscular set of men, inured to constant peril and 
privation, and accustomed to severe and unremitting toil. 
For weeks, and even months at a time they saw no faces but 
their companions among the crew, or on some passing craft, 
and their days from daylight until dark were spent in con- 
stant toil at the oars, or poles, or tugging at the rope, either 
on the boat, or on shore, as they were employed, either at 
warping or cordelling. 

At night, after "tying up" their time was spent either in 
gaming, carousing, story telling, etc. — the amusement of the 
evening being varied not unfrequently by a fisticuff en- 
counter. 

The labor performed in their occupation was of the severest 
kind, and the constant and arduous exercise produced in most 
of them extraordinary physical development. 

So intense was the exertion usually required to propel and 
guide the boat, that a rest was necessary every hour, and from 
14 to 20 miles was all that could be made ag-ainst the current. 

The sense of physical power, which naturally accompanied 
the steady exercise of the muscles inspired the average boat- 
man, not merely with insensibility of danger, but a bellicoseness 
of disposition, which seems to have been characteristic of his 
class. 

The champion pugilist of a boat was entitled to wear a red 
feather in his cap, and this badge of pre-eminence was univer- 
sally regarded as a challenge to all rivals. 

In summer the boatmen were usually stripped to the waist, 
and their bodies exposed to the sun were turned to the 
swarthy hues of the Indian. In winter they were clothed in 
buckskin breeches and blankets (capots), a grotesque com- 
bination of French and Indian styles, which gave their attire 
a wild and peculiar appearance. 

Their food was of the simplest character. After a seven 
days' toil, says " Moneth," at night they took their " fillie," 
or ration of whisky, swallowed their homely supper of meat 



54 gotjld's history of river navigation. 

half burned and bread half baked, retiring to sleep they 
stretched themselves upon the open deck without coverings 
under the open canopy of heaven, or probably enveloped in 
a blanket until the steersman's horn called them to their 
morning tillie and their toil. 

Hard and fatiguing was the life of the boatman, yet it was 
rare that any of them changed their occupation. There was 
a charm in the excesses, in their frolics, and in the fightings 
which they anticipated at the end of the vo^^age which cheered 
them on. 

Of weariness, none would complain, but rising from his bed 
at the dawn of day, and reanimated by his morning draught,, 
he was prepared to hear the wonted order, " stand to your 
poles and set off." 

The boatmen were masters of the winding horn and the fid- 
dle, and as the boat moved off from her moorings, some, to 
cheer their labors, or '' scare off the devil and secure good 
luck," would wind the animating blast of the horn, which, 
mingling with the sweet music of the fiddle and reverberating 
along the shores, greeted the solitary dwellers along the banks 
with news from New Orleans. 

Levity and volubility were conspicuous traits of the boat- 
man's character, and while he was Willing to perform long and 
continued labor, he would render such service only to a " pa- 
troon " whom he respected. In fine, the average keel-boat- 
man was cool, reckless, even to the verge of rashness, and 
pugnacious, but, notwithstanding certain grave shortcomings,, 
an unmitigated hater of all darker shades of sin and wrong- 
doing;, such as robbing, murderins; for plunder, crimes in his 
day that weie frequently and boldly perpetrated along the 
sparsely settled banks and lonely islands on the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi Rivers. 

The departure of a boat was an important event in the une- 
ventful life of the inhaltitants of Western towns. 

On such occasions it was customary for the friends to as- 
semble on the banks to bid axWeu to the voy a c/'-ios. Sometimes 
half the population of the village was present to tender their 
wishes for a prosperous trip." 

For years it was believed that no keel-boat could ascend the 
Missouri River. The rapidity of the current was supposed to 
present an insuperable obstacle to the navigation with such a 
craft. 

The doubt was settled by the energy of George Sarpy, who 
sent a keel-boat under Capt. I^a Brosse to try the difficult ex- 
periment of ascending the Missouri. The success of the un- 



CHARACTER OF KENTUCKY KEEL-BOATS. 55 

dertakino; marked a sio;nal advance in Western river navigation, 
and supplied the merchants of St, Louis with new facilities 
for the transportation of goods, while it greatly extended the 
operations of boatmen and increased their numbers. 

Of the keel-boatmen, when classed by nativity, the Ken- 
tuckians bore the most unenviable reputation, on account of 
the fact that they were generally characterized by excessive 
recklessness and bellieoseuess, and we are told that so gloomy 
was the reputation of the Kentuckians, that travelers were 
liable at every place (except at the miserable wayside taverns) 
to have the door shut in their faces on applying for refresh- 
ments or a night's lodging. Nor would any plea or circum- 
stance alter the decided refusal of a matron or mistress, unless 
it might be the uncommonly genteel appearance or equipage 
of the traveler. For a similar reason, perhaps, badly built 
boats, with poor or injured plank in their bottoms, which had 
been sold to unsuspecting parties, were known as " Kentucky 
boats." 

" In 1802," says a writer on " Early Navigators," in a St. 
Louis paper, " A Mv. Winchester's boat struck a rock in the 
Ohio river, below Pittsburg a short distance, and one of her 
bottom plank being badly stove in, she sank immediately, hav- 
ing on board a valuable cargo of dry goods. 

The proprietor, not being on board at the time, conceived, 
when informed of the disaster, that it had been caused by 
the carelessness of the person to whom he had intrusted the 
care of the boat and cargo, and brought suit against him 
for damages. Indeed it was somewhat evident, from all 
that could be learned, that the patroon had no business in the 
neighborhood of the rock which sunk the boat, and could and 
should have avoided it. 

The defendant's position was somewhat gloomy, but his re- 
sources were equal to the emergency. The suit was before 
(Dr.) Justice Richardson, of Pittsburg, who himself had had 
some sad experience with " Kentucky boats," The defend- 
ant knowing, or having been informed of this, hired two men, 
went down to the boat and procured some pieces of the plank 
that had given way. On the day of the trial, after the 
plaintiff had, as every one thought, fully established his 
charges and demands, the justice asked the defendant if he 
had any rebutting evidence to offer. " Yes, your Honor, I 
have;" and reaching down under the seat, he drew out the 
pieces of plank above mentioned, and said: " I have no evi- 
dence, your Honor, except these pieces of plank which 1 can 
prove to your Honor are a part of the same plank the break- 



56 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ing of which caused the siiikhig of the boat, which I say 
would not have occurred if the phmk had been reasonably 
sound. Look at them ; your Honor will find that it was my 
misfortune to have been i)laced in charge of one of these 
damned Kentucky boats." 

Without in any way noticing the blasphemous expression, 
the justice examined the pieces, which proved to be thor- 
oughly rotten and defective, unfit to be put anywhere, much 
less in the bottom of a boat. After hearing from the defend- 
ant's helpers, that those pieces were taken from the boat in 
question, and the identical place where she had broken, the 
court delivered its mind as follows : — 

" This court had the misfortune once to place a valuable 
cargo on a Kentucky boat, not knowing it to be such; which 
sunk and went down in 17 feet of water, this court believed 
by coming in contact with a yellow bellied catfish, there be- 
ing no snag, or rock, or other obstruction near her at the 
time. And this court being satisfied with the premises in 
this case doth order that the same be dismissed at the plaintiff's 
cost — to have included therein the expenses of the plaintiff's 
costs, in going to and returning from the wreck, for the pur- 
pose of obtaining such damnable and irrefutable evidence as 
this bottom plank has furnished." The bottom plank was 
deemed proof so conclusive and the prejudice against 
Kentucky boats in the minds of the public, and it was so ex- 
tended and settled that it was thought inadvisable to urge the 
suit any further. " 

Whatever may have been the law and the "practice in those 
days, all modern decisions in similar cases Avould have exon- 
erated the defendant, as the boat in question was undoubtedly 
unseaworth}^ although it would have been necessary, in the 
case cited by Justice Richardson, of the Pittsburg court, to 
have introduced some testimony to satisfy any court or jury 
as to the size and character of the yellow bellied catfish of that 
day. 



ARKIVAL. OF A FLOTILLA AT ST. LOUIS. 67 



CHAPTER XIV. 

BESIDES the ordinary dangers of the treacherous currents, 
" cave-in3," shoals and snags of the Mississippi, and oc- 
casional assaults from prowling savages, the early boatmen 
were often called upon to face the more serious attacks of river 
pirates. Many a boat load of costly merchandise intended 
for the warehouses of St. Louis never reached its destination. 
The misdeeds of the robbers were not always limited to the 
seizure of goods. The proof of Aipine w'as often extinguished 
by the murder of the witnesses. 

The caves of the pirates were often rich with the spoils of 
a plundered commerce, and the depredations became more 
frequent in proportion to the impunity with which they w'ere 
committed. At last the interruption of trade became so gross 
and the danger to life so eminent that the Governor-General 
of Louisiana was constrained to take more effective steps for 
the suppression of the bandits. An official order excluding 
single boats from the Mississippi granted the privilege of navi- 
gation only io flotillas, that were strong enough to repel their 
assailants. The plan succeeded ; the pirates were ultimately 
driven from their haunts. 

The arrival at St. Louis in 1788 of a flotilla of ten boats 
was a memorable occasion in the annals of the village. It 
was the last year of Don Francisco Cruzat's second adminis- 
tration. 

In the year before, M. Beausoliel, a New Orleans merchant, 
had been captured by pirates, near the island that still bears 
his name, and subsequently escaj)ing, killed the pirates and 
recaptured his boat. He then returned to New Orleans and re- 
ported his experience to the governor, who thereupon issued 
the order that all boats bound for St. Louis the folio wins: 
spring should sail together for mutual protection. This was 
carried out and the flotilla des dix bateaux nuule the voyage, 
capturing at Cotton Creek the camp and supplies of the pirates, 
with a valuable assortment of miscellaneous plunder w'hich had 
been taken from many boats on previous occasions. 

In an advertisement published in 1794, the patrons of an es- 
pecial line of boats were assured of their safety. The state- 
ments which were made to allay apprehension, showed that the 
fear of the pirates was not then groundless. A large crew, 
skillful in the use of arms, a plentiful sup[)ly of muskets and 
ammunition, anequipment on each boat of six one-pound can- 



58 Gould's history of river navigation. 

non,and a lOop-hole rifle-proof cabin for the passengers, were 
the means of defense which were provided, on which were 
based the hopes of security. 

So formidable an array of weapons was not well calculated 
to inspire timid natures with confidence in the safety of the 
voyage. The boatmen were very active in rooting out the 
nests of pirates, and not infrequently administered lynch law, 
in summary fashion. One of the most sanguinary incidents of 
this character was that which occurred in l.'^OO, Island 94, or 
Stack Island, or, as it is sometimes called, "Crow's Nest," 
170 miles above Natchez, w^s notorious for many years as a 
den for the rendezvous of horse thieves, counterfeiters, rob- 
bers and murderers. It was a small island in the middle of 
" Nine Mile Reach." From thence they would sally forth, 
stop passing boats, murder the crew, or, if this seemed im- 
practicable, would buy their horses, flour, whisky, etc., and 
pay for them. 

Their villainies became notorious, and several years pur- 
suit by the civil officers of the law failed to produce any re- 
sult in the way of punishment or eradication. But they were 
at length made to disappear by the application of lynch law, 
from several keel boat crews. The full history of this affair 
has never been unfolded, and perhaps never will be. But for 
terrible retribution and complete annihilation outside of any 
authorized decrees, it never had its equal in any administra- 
tion of lyncl) law, the recitals of which cast so many shadows 
on the West and South. 

The autumn of 1809 had been marked by many atrocities 
on the i)art of the bandits of the "Crow's Nest." Several 
boats and their entire crews had disappeared at that point, 
and no traces could be found of them afterwards. The coun- 
try around and up and down the river, had been victim- 
ized and robbed in almost every conceivable form, by dep- 
redators, whose movements could be traced satisfactorily 
towards the Crow's Nest. At one time it occurred that 
several keel boats were concentrated at the head of Nine 
Mile Rea<h, within speaking distance of each other, being 
detained hy heavy contrary winds. 

The crews of these boats were well informed as to the 
villainies of those who harbored on the little island a few 
miles below them. Man}^ of them had friends and com- 
rades on the boats that had been among the missino; ones. 
By what means it was brought about, or at whose sugges- 
tion or influence, it was never known. But one dark night, 
a few hours before daylight, eighty or ninety men from 



CAPTURE OF PIRATES AT CROWDS NEST. 59 

these wind-bound crafts, well armed, descended in their small 
boats to the Crow's Nest and surprised its occupants, whom 
they secured after a short encounter, in which two of the 
boatmen were wounded and several of the robbers killed. 
Nineteen men, a boy of fifteen, and two women were thus 
captured. Shortly after sunrise, the boy, on account of his 
extreme youth, and the two women, were allowed to de- 
part. What was the punishment meted out to the men, 
whether shot or. hanged, was never ascertained with any de- 
gree of certainty. 

None but the boy, the boatmen and the two women, how- 
ever, ever left the island alive, and by twelve o'clock noon, 
the crews were back to their boats, and, the wind having 
calmed the night before, they shoved out, and by sunset they 
were far down the river and away from the scene of the indis- 
putably just, although unlawful retribution. Two years af- 
terward came the terrible eai-thquake, which, with the floods 
of 1811 and '13, destroyed every vestige of the Crow's Nest, 
leaving nothing of it to be seen but a low sand-bar, and WMth 
it passed away from public sight and mind all signs of the 
bandits, their crimes, and the awful doom that awaited them, 

Sonie years later a new type of desperadoes appeared, who, 
if history and tradition do not greatly belie them, were not 
much more exemplary in their conduct than the pirates and 
buccaneers that preceded them, 

Mike Fink, in particular, was the model hero of the Missis- 
sippi boatmen, who has figured on the pages of popular ro- 
mance, was a ruffian of surpassing strength and courage. 

His rifle was unerring, and his conscience was as easy and 
accommodating as a man in his line of business could wish. 
His earliest vocation was that of a boatman, but he belonged 
to a company of government spies or scouts, whose duty it 
was to watch the movements of the Indians on the frontier. 
At that time Pittsburgh was on the extreme verge of the 
white population, and the spies who were constantly employed 
generally extended their reconnoissances forty or fifty miles 
west of that place. Going out singly, and living in Indian 
style, they assimilated themselves to the habits, tastes and 
feelings of the Indians. 

In their border warfare, the scalp of a Shawnee was con- 
sidered about as valuable as the skin of a panther. 

Mike Fink, tiring of this, after awhile returned to the water 
life, and engrafting several other occupations on that of a 
boatman, put all mankind, except that of his employer, to 
whom he was honest and faithful, under contribution and be- 



60 Gould's history of river navigation. 

came nothing more nor less than a freebooter. *' Mike, hav- 
ing murdered Joe Stephens, was killed by one of Joe's 
brothers." — (See history of Mike in another chapter.) 



CHAPTEE Xy. 

JAMES GIKTY, another or the famous Mississippi boat- 
men, was represented as a natural prodigy, not constructed 
like other men, for instead of ribs, nature had provided him 
with a solid bony covering on both sides, without any inter- 
stices through which a knife, dirk or bullet could penetrate. 

He possessed amazing muscular power, and courage in pro- 
portion, and his great boast was that he had never been 
whipped. The trade conducted by the these boats was of 
considerable importance. 

As early as 1802 the annual exports of the Mississippi Val- 
ley amounted to $2,160,000, and the imports to $2,500,000. 
Up to 1804 the annual value of the fur trade of Upper 
Louisiana amounted to $203,750. The Province then exported 
lead, salt, beef and pork, and received Indian goods from 
Canada, domestics from Philadelphia and Baltimore, groceries 
from New Orleans, and hardware from the Ohio River. 

Short notices in the newspapers of the day, announcing, 
*' Wanted to freight from this place to Louisville about 1,600 
weight. Apply at the printing office." 

" Thirteen boatmen are wanted to navigate a fur boat to 
New Orleans, to start about the 15th of next month. Custom- 
ary wages will be given." 

" The barge Scott will start from St. Louis on the first of 
March, and will take freight for Louisville or Frankfort in 
Kentucky, on reasonable terms. Apply to John Steele." 

Freighting irom New Orleans to Kaskaskia in 1741. 

We doubt whether so unique or so old a bill of lading can 
be found in the Valley of the Mississippi as that which follows. 
It is a translation from a bill of sale executed the 18th of May, 
1741, by Barois, a notary in Kaskaskia, Ills. 

"And it has been further agreed that said Mettazer promises 
to deliver to said Bienvena, at the landing place of this town 
of Kaskaskia, at his own risks, the fortunes of war excepted, 
an iron kettle, weighing about 290 pounds, used for the man- 



\ PETER PKOVENCIIERE S BILL OF LADING. 61 

ufacture of salt, and which said Bienvena owns in New Or- 
leans, and said Bienvena promises to pay to said Mettazer, 
for his salary and freight, after the delivery of said kettle, a 
steer in good order, three bushels of salt, two hundred pounds 
of bacon, and twenty bushels of Indian corn under the pen- 
alty of all costs, etc." 

[From Si. Louis Re2mbUcan.~\ 

" Shipped by Peter Provenchere, of the town of St. Louis, 
merchant, on board the boat ' Jas. Maddison,' whereof 
Charles Quivey is master, now laying at the landing before 
the town of St. Louis, and ready immediately to depart for 
Louisville, Ky. 

" F. T. Six packs of deer skins, marked and numbered as 
per margin. And a barrel of bear oil, containing about 
thirty-two gallons, all in good order and well condition, which 
I promise to deliver in like good order and condition, unavoid- 
able accidents excepted, unto Mr. Francis Tarriscon or to his 
assio-nees. And, moreover, I acknowledsre to have of the 
said Peter Provenchere a note of Peter Menard on Louis 
Lorimer, inhabitant of Cape Girardeau, four thousand pounds 
of receiptable deer skins, the said note transferred to my 
order, and I bind and engage myself to ask of the said Louis 
Lorimer the payment of the said note, and if I reclaim it to 
deliver to the said Francis Tarriscon, or assign the one thousand 
pounds of deer skins, together with the six packs and the 
barrel now received, and in case of no payment to return the 
note to Mr. Tarriscon, he or they paying freight. 

" In witness whereof I have set my hand to three bills of 
lading, all of the same tenor and date, one being accom- 
plished, the others null and void. Charles Quivey. 

" Test. Wm. C. Carr, St. Louis, 8th, A. D., 1809." 



62 Gould's msTOiii or kivek naviuation. 



CHAPTER XYL 

" THE WEST. ' 
PUBLISHED IN CINCINNATI, 1848,' BY JAMES HALL. 

THE French, who first explored our Northern frontier, 
ascended the great chain of kil<es to Huron and Michi- 
gan, and afterwards penetrated through Lake Superior, to 
that remote wiklerness, where the head branches of the St. 
Lawrence interk)ck with those of the Mississippi. Adopting, 
and probably improving the bark canoe of the natives, they 
were jenabled to travei-se immeasurable wilds, which nature 
had seemed to have rendered inaccessible to man by floods of 
water at one season and masses of ice and snow at another, 
by the wide-spread lakes, and ponds, and morasses, which in 
every direction intercepted the journey by land, and by the 
cataracts and rapids, which cut off the communication by 
water. All difficulties vanished before the efficiency of this 
little vessel ; its wonderful buoyancy enabled it, though 
heavily freighted, to ride safely over the waves of the lakes, 
even in boisterous weather; its slender form and lightness of 
draught i)ermitted it to navigate the smallest streams, and 
pass the narrowest channels: while its weight was so little, 
that it was easily carried on the shoulders of men from one 
stream to another. Thus when these intrepid navigators found 
the river channel closed by an impassable barrier, the boat was 
unloaded, the freight, M'hich had })reviously been formed into 
suitable packages for ihat purpose, was carried round the ob- 
struction by the boatmen, the boat itself performed the same 
journey, and then was again launched in its {proper element. 
So, also, wdien a river had been traced up to its sources, and 
no longer furnished sufficient water for navigation, the ac- 
commodating bark canoe, like some amphibious monster, for- 
sook the nearly exhausted channel and traveled across the 
land to the nearest navigable stream. By this simple but ad- 
mirable contrivance, the fur trade was secured, the great 
continent of North America was penetrated to its center 
through thousand of miles of wilderness, and a valunble 
staple brought to the marts of commerce. If we regard that 
little boat as the means of bringing to market this great mass 
of the treasures of the wilderness, we may well remark, that 
never was an important object affected by means so insigniti- 



EARLY EXPLORATIONS. 63 

cant. But the human hibor, and peril, and exposure — the 
courage, the enterprise, and the skill employed, were far 
from iusigniticant. The results were great. Besides the vast 
trade which was developed, the interior of a great continent 
was explored, the boundaries between two empires were 
traced out and incidently established, an intercourse with the 
Indian tribes was opened, and valuable facts were added to 
the treasures of science. And all this was accomplished, not 
by the power of an empire, not by the march of a conqueror 
impelled by military ambition or the lust of conquest — not 
by a lavish expenditure of money, or the shedding of human 
blood — but by the action of humble individuals acting under 
the great stimulus of commercial enterprise. 

Turning our attention to another part of the great theater 
of early adventure, we see the bold explorers crossing from 
the lakes to the Mississippi, passing up and down that river, 
tracing its gigantic course from the Gulf of Mexico to the Falls 
of St. Anthony — erecting forts, planting settlements, and, 
in short, establishing a chain of posts and colonies, extending 
from the mouth of the Mi-sissip})i, westward of the British 
Colonies, to the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The adventur- 
ers to Louisiana sought the precious metals ; imaginary mines 
of gold and silver allured them across the ocean, led them to 
brave the terrors of the climate and the wilderness, and sus- 
tained them under the greatest extremes of toil and privation. 
Though disappointed in the object of their search, they be- 
came the founders of an empire, they explored and developed 
the resources of the country, they led the way to that flood of 
emigration which had been grachuilly tilling up the land, and 
scattered the germs of that ])rosperity which we see blooming 
around us, and promising harvests too great to be estimated. 

"When the sagacious eye of Washington tirst beheld the 
country lying about the head-waters of the Ohio, he saw and 
pointed out the military and commercial advantages which 
might be secured by its occupation. Had the annexation of 
this country to the American colonies, or at a later period 
to the States, been a political question, how various would 
have been the opinions, how deliberate the discussion, how 
slow the action, how uncertain the result. But this splendid 
example of national aggrandizement was not achieved by the 
wisdom of statesmen, nor by the valor of armies. No sooner 
had a few daring pioneers settled in the wilderness, than the 
eager spirit of trade, ever on the watch for new iields of ad- 
venture, discovered the rich promise of gain offered by a 
region so wide and so feitile. Commerce did not then, nor ia 



64 Gould's history or river navigation. 

any instance, in the settlement of our country, wait until' 
'grim visaged war had smoothed his wrinkled front,' as is 
supposed to be her usual custom. However specific in her 
tendencies, she did not shrink from a full participation of the 
perils of this glorious adventure. Following the footsteps of 
the pioneers, she came with the advance of the army of popu- 
lation. 

" The first settlements in the West were made by the back- 
woodsmen from Virginia and North Carolina, who were soon 
after followed by those of Pennsylvania and Maryland. New 
Jersey came next in the order of population ; and from these 
sources originated that gallant band of pioneers who explored 
the country, drove back the savage, and opened the way for 
civilization. They were a daring, a simple, and an honest peo- 
ple, whose history is full of romance — but it is not with the 
romance of history we have now to do. Simple and frugal 
as they were in their habits, they were still civilized men — 
branches of the great social circle whose center glowed with 
the brightest refinements of life — and they had some artificial 
wants beyond the mere fruits of the earth and the products of 
the chase, while the country abounded in the crutle materials 
which promised an abundant supply of articles of barter. 

" Wherever there is a prospect of gain, there will the ad- 
venturous feet of commerce to thread their way, however dreary 
the path, however difiicult or dangerous the roadu While the 
whole Alleghany ridge was still an unbroken mass of wilder- 
ness, trains of pack-horses might be seen climbing the moun- 
tain sides, by the winding bridle-path, threading the meanders 
of the valleys and gorges, trembling on the brinks of preci- 
pices, and sliding down the declivities, which scarcely afforded 
a secure footing to man or beast. They were laden with mer- 
chandise for traffic. The conductors were men inured to all 
the hardships which beset the traveler in the wilderness — men 
who united the craft of the hunter to the courage and disci- 
pline of the soldier. For the road they traveled was the 
war-path of the Indian — it was the track that had been beaten 
smooth by the feet of them that sought the blood of the white 
man, and who still lurked in the way, bent on plunder and 
carnage. There was no resting place, no accommodation, no 
shelter. Throughout the day they plodded on, through the 
forest, scaling steep acclivities, fording rivers, enduring all 
the toils of an arduous march, and encamping at night in the 
wilderness; observing the precaution and the discipline of a 
military party in a hostih- country. These are merchants, 
carrying their wares to the forts and settlements of the West; 



WESTEEN MERCHANT AND MECHANIC. 65 

they were the pioneers of that commerce which now employs 
Ihe wealth and controls the resources of an empire. They de- 
serve a high place among the founders of Western settlements, 
as they furnished the supplies of arms, ammunition, clothing, 
and other necessaries, which enabled the inhabitants of the 
frontier to sustain themselves against the hostilities of numer- 
ous tribes of Indians, incited to war by British influence, and 
supi)lied with the implements and appliances of savage war- 
fare, by the agents of the same humane and enlightened peo- 
ple. 

" The first boats used in the navigation of the Western riv- 
ers, were the flat-boat, the keel, and the barge, the first of 
which was only used in descending with the current, while 
the two latter ascended the streams, propelled laboriously by 
poles. Navigating long rivers whose shores were still infested 
by hostile savages, the boatmen were armed, and depended for 
safety upon their caution and their manhood. Mike Fink, the 
last of the boatmen, was an excellent marksman, and was as 
proud of his ability to defend his boat as of his skill to con- 
duct it through the rapids and windings of the navigation. 
The Indians, lurking along the shore, used many stratagems 
to decoy the passengers and crews of the boat to land, and 
those who were unsuspicious enough to be thus deceived fell 
an easy prey to the marauder. Under the best circumstances 
these boats were slow, and difficult to manage, the cost of 
freight was enormous, and the means of communication un- 
certain. 

" The application of steam power to the purposes of navi- 
gation forms the brightest era in the hist ry of this country. 
It is that which has contributed more than any other event or 
cause to the rapid growth of our population, and the almost 
miraculous development of our resources. We need not 
pause to inquire whether the honor of the invention be due to 
Fitch, to Eumsey, or to Fulton, — for that inquiry is not 
involved in the discussion in which we are now engao-ed. But 
if we seek for the efficient patron of this all-pou erf ul agent 
in the West — for the power that adopted, fostered, improved, 
and developed it — from an unpromising beginning, through 
discouragement, failure, disappointment — through peril of 
life, vast expenditure of money, and ruinous loss, to the most 
complete and brilliant success — we are again referred to the 
liberal spirit of commercial enterprise. Science pointed the 
way, but she did no more ; it was the wealth of the Western 
merchant, and the skill of the Western mechanic, that wrought 
out the experiment to a successful issue. The first fruits of 



66 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

the enterprise were far from encouraging ; failure after fail 
ure attested the numerous and embarrassing difficulties by 
which it was surrounded. For although all the early boats 
were capable of being propelled through the water, and al- 
though the last was usually better than those which preceded 
it, it was long a doubtful question, whether the invention 
could be made practically useful upon our Western rivers; 
and it was not until tive years of ex})eriment, and the build- 
ing of nine expensive steamboats, that the public mind was 
convinced by the brilliant exploit of the Washington, which 
made the trip from Louisville to New Orleans and back in 
forty-tive days. 

"The improvements in this mode of navigation since then 
have been surprising. The voj^age from New Orleans to Louis- 
ville has been made in less than six days. The trip from Cin- 
cinnati to New Orleans and back is made easily in two weeks. 
During the high water, in the spring of 184(3, the trip from 
Pittsburgh to Cincinnati was made in twenty-seven hours, and 
the packet boats between these places have now regular daya 
and hours for departure. 

" Explosions and other destructive casualties have become 
rare, and the navigation is now safe, except only from obstruc- 
tions existing in the channels of the rivers. All that skill, enter- 
prise, and public spirit could do, to bring this navigation to 
perfection, has been done by the liberal proprietors of steam- 
boats. The wealth of individuals has been treely contributed, 
while that of the crovernment has been withheld with a degree 
of injustice which has scarcely a parallel in the annals of civil- 
ized legislation, The history of man does not exhibit a spectacle 
of such rapid advancement in population, wealth, industry, 
and refinement, suchenergy, perseverance, and enlightened pub- 
lic spirit on the j^art of individuals, as is exhibited in the progress 
of the Western people — nor of so parsimonious and sluggish a 
spirit as that evinced toward us by the government. All that 
we have, and are, [are our own, created by ourselves, unaided by 
a government to whose resources and power we are now the 
largest contributors. We build and maintain a fleet of five 
hundred steamboats, bearing annually a freightage of more 
than two hundred million dollars — while we are subjected to 
an immense yearly loss of life and property, from the narrow 
and unwise refusal of thegovernment to make a comparatively 
small expenditure to remove obstructions from the channels of 
rivers, over which it has the sole jurisdiction. 

"By our own unaided exertions we have now actively em- 
ployed in the transportation of passengers and merchandise 



EARLY COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 67 

more than five hundred steamboats, worth ten million of dol- 
lars, having the capacity of one hundred thousand tons, and 
plying upon a connected chain of river navigation of twelve 
thousand miles in extent. 

"The value of the exports and imports, floating on the West- 
ern waters annually, has been estimated at two hundred and 
twenty millions of dollars, consisting of the products of our 
soil and manufacturers on one hand, and of the fabrics of for- 
eign countries upon the other, all bought with the money of 
our merchants, and by them thrown into the channels of trade. 

" If the mercantile class had rendered no other service to 
our country, than that of introducing and fostering the agency 
of steam, in navigation and manufactures, they would have 
entitled themselves to more lasting gratitude and honor, than 
the most illustrious statesman or hero has ever earned from 
the justice and enthusiasm of his country,'* 



CHAPTER XYII. 



PREVIOUS to the year 1817, the whole commerce from New 
Orleans to the upper country was carried m about twenty 
barges, averaging one hundred tons each, and making but one 
trip in the year, so that the importations from New Orleans 
in one year could not have exceeded the freight brought up by 
one of our largest steamboats in the course of a season. On 
the upper Ohio, there were about one hundred and fifty keel- 
boats, of about thirty tons each, which made the voyage from 
Pittsburo;h to Louisville and back in two months, or about 
three such trips in the year. That w^as about thirty years ago, 
and need I pause to inquire what would have been the prob- 
able condition of our country, at this time, had our commerce 
continued to be dependent upon such insufficient means of con- 
veyance ? 

" The pioneers were a noble race, and well did they discharge 
the part assigned them. They led the way into the wilder- 
ness. They scaled the ramparts of the Alleghany mountains, 
that seemed to have been erected as barriers against the foot- 
steps of civilized men. They beat back the savage and pos- 
sessed the country. Their lives were full of peril and daring; 
their deeds are replete with romance. 

"The farmers who have subdued the wilderness are hardy 
and laborious men, who have been well designated as the bone 



68 Gould's history of river navigation. 

and muscle of the country. They have cheerfully encoun- 
tered obstacles from which a less resolute body of men would 
have shrunk in despair, and have won the fruitful tields 
which they possess through toils and dangers such as rarely 
fall to the lot of husbandmen. 

"But without detracting from tne merits of either of these 
classes, what would this country have been now, Avitliout 
commerce? Sup})ose its rural population had been left to 
struggle with the wilderness without the aid of the numberless 
api^liances which have been brought to their doors by the 
spirit of trade, to what point would their population and their 
prosperity have risen? Without money, without steamboats, 
canals, railroads, turnpikes, and other facilities for transporta- 
tion, what would have been the destiny of our broad and fer- 
tile plains? Desert and blooming, they would have sustained 
a scattered population, rich in tiocks and herds — a roaming, 
pastoral people, whose numbers would have grown by the 
natural increase ; while the country would have remained un- 
improved, and its rich resources locked in the bosom of the 
earth. But commerce came, bringing them a market for their 
products, offering rich rewards to industry, and stimulating 
labor to the highest point of exertion. She brought with her 
money, and the various representatives of money, established 
credit, confidence, commercial intercourse, united action and 
mutuality of interest. Through her influence the forests were 
penetrated b}^ roads, bridges were thrown over rivers, and 
highways constructed through dreary morasses. Traveling 
was rendered easy and transportation cheap. Through this 
influence the earth was made to yield its mineral treasures; 
iron, lead, copper, coal, salt, saltpetre, and various other pro- 
ducts of the mine, have been taken from our soil, and brought 
into common use. Our agricultural products have increased, 
and are daily and hourly increasing in variety and value ; 
while in every village is seen the smoke of the manufactory, 
and heard the cheerful sounds of the engine and hammer. 

" Such have been the trophies of commerce; and still the 
same salutary spirit is abroad in our land. There is no page 
in the history of our country more surprising, or richer in the 
romance of real life, than that which depicts the adventures 
and the perils of the traders and trappers in the wilderness 
beyond our Western frontier. Leaving St. Louis in large 
parties, well mounted and armed, they go forth with the 
cheerfulness of men in pursuit of pleasure. Yet their whole 
lives are full of danger, privation and hardship. Crossing the 
wide prairies, and directing their steps to the Rocky Mount- 



*' WESTWARD THE STAR OF EMPIRE." 69 

^ins, they remain months and even years in those savage 
wilds, living in the open air, without shelter, with no food but 
such game as the wilderness affords, eaten without bread or 
salt, setting their traps for beaver and otter in the mountain 
streams, and fighting continually with the grizzly bear and 
the Indian — their lives are a long series of warfare and watch- 
ing, of ])rivation and danger. These daring men secure to us 
the fur trade, while they explore the unknown regions beyond 
our borders, and are the pioneers in the expansion of our terri- 
tory. 

"So, too, of the caravans which annually pass from St. 
Louis across the great plains to Santa Fe. Their purpose is 
trade. They carr}' large amounts of valuable merchandise to 
the Mexican dominions, and bring back rich returns. But like 
the trapper, they go armed for battle, and jjrepared to en- 
counter all the dangers of the wilderness. And here, too, we 
see the spirit of trade animated by an intelligent enterprise, 
and sustained by a daring courage and an invincible persever- 
ance. 

"There are many persons still living who bear in their 
memories the records of the last fifty years, so fraught 
with those momentous events, which have disturbed the 
repose of the world, or advanced the progress of man. 
The rise of Napoleon, the expansion of that gigantic military 
power, \\'hich had nearly conquered Europe, the lavish ex- 
penditure of blood and tre-tsure, by that mighty conqueror, 
that man of brilliant genius and stubborn will, are still recent 
events. Within that period, kingdoms were overthrown, na- 
tions conquered, crowns transferred; — and who can forget 
the pomp, the circumstances, the terror, the dreadful carnage, 
that attended those great national changes? 

" Within the same period the great j)lain of the Mississippi 
was a wilderness, embracing a few feeble and widely scattered 
colonies. Here also arose a mighty conqueror, more power- 
ful than an army with banners. A vast region has been 
overrun and subdued. The mountains have been scaled — 
the hills have been leveled, and the valleys filled up, and the 
rough ways made smooth, to admit the ingress of the invaders 
The land has been taken. A broad expanse extendins: over 
twelve degrees from north to south, and ten degiees from 
east to west, has lieen rescued from the dominion of nature, 
and from the hand of the savage, and brought under subjec- 
tion to the laws of social subordination.' A population of 
seven millions has been planted upon the soil. Cities have 
grown up on the plains, the fields are rich with harvests, and 



70 Gould's history of river navigation. 

the rivers bear the rich freights of commerce. This has- 
nearly all been effected without the horrors of war, without 
national violence, without the domestic afflictions usually at- 
tendant on the train of conquest. The conquests of the war- 
like emperor have vanished, and his greatness perished like an 
airy fabric; while a commercial people, using only pacific 
means, have gained an empire whose breadth and wealth might 
easily satisfy the ambition of even a Napoleon. They have 
gained it by labor, by "money, and by credit — by the mus- 
cular exertion of the farmer and mechanic, aided by mercan- 
tile enterprise and fiscal ability. 

" The great West has now a commerce within its own limits, 
as valuable as that which floats on the ocean between the 
United States and Europe. In that wide land, where so lately 
the beaver and honey bee were the only representatives of 
labor, and a painted savage the type of manhood, we manu- 
facture all the necessaries of life, letters and the fine arts are 
cultivated, and beauty and fashion bloom around us. 

" We have, in the West and Southwest, an incorporated 
banking capital of fifty millions of dollars, affording, with its 
circulation of notes, a capital of about one hundred millions 
of dollars for business ; and however the demagogue may rail 
against these institutions, there can be no question, that their 
capital is so much actual power, wielded by the commercial 
class, for the benefit of the whole country. The poor may 
envy the rich the possession of that of which they feel the 
want, the demagogue may decry credit, for the same reason, 
but the truth is that this country has grown rich through the 
money of banks and the enterprise of merchants. The 
farmer has been the greatest gainer from the general pros- 
perity. Commerce has supplied money to purchase his pro- 
ducts; the building of mills, the creation of roads, canals, and 
steamboats, are due to the enterprise of commerce, but they 
bring a market to the farmer. The agricultural products, 
which but a few years ago were not worth the labor of pro- 
duction, are now sources of wealth to the farmer — of vast 
ag-orregated wealth to the State. 

" In 1795, when the troops of Wayne triumphed over a 
numerous Indian force, the whole territory of Ohio was a 
wilderness; now we have a population of two millions, ac- 
tively engaged in the various pursuits of industry, a country 
rich in resources, highly improved, and intersected in every 
direction by turnpike roads, railroads and canals; the aggre- 
gate extent of the artificial communications made by the State 
being over fifteen hundred miles, and their cost more than 



INTRODUCTION OF STEA3IBOATS. 71 

fourteen millions of dollars. And these are not military 
roads, constructed by the patronage of the government, neither 
are they the highways of a rural people, required for the pur- 
poses of social intercourse — they are the avenues of commer- 
cial system, through which wealth and property circulate 
throughout the broad land, nourishing its prosperity into 
healthful and lusty vigor — created by the wants, the influ- 
ence, and the wealth of commerce. 

" The introduction of steamboats upon the Western waters 
deserves a separate mention, because it has contributed more 
than any other single cause, perhaps more than all other 
causes which have grown out of human skill, combined, to 
advance the prosperity of the West. The striking natural 
features of this countrj'^ are, its magnitude — its fertility — 
its mineral wealth — the number and extent of its rivers. Its 
peculiar adaptation to commercial purposes, is evident. The 
lichness of the soil, and the abundance of all the useful min- 
erals combine to render agricultural labors easy, cheap and 
greatly productive. The amount of produce raised for 
consumption, and for export, is great; and the people are 
therefore not only able, but liberally disposed to purchase 
foreign products. They do, in fact, live more freely, and 
purchase more amply, than the farmers of any other country. 
The amount, therefore, of commercial capital employed, as 
compared with the amount of population, is great; and the 
vast superficial extent of country, over which these operations 
may be extended with safety and facility, and whose products 
may be exchanged, concentrated, or distributed, is unex- 
ampled. There is nothing, in the topography of any other 
country, to compare with the Western rivers. The Mississippi 
and her tributaries may be navigated in various directions, to 
the distance of two thousand miles from the ocean ; and every 
portion of this immense plain is intersected by these natural 
canals. In these respects nature has been prodigal ; it was 
left to human skill and energy to turn her gifts to the best 
advantage, and never was the intellect of man more usefully 
employed than in the discovery and successful introduction of 
steam navigation. It was all that the Western country needed ; 
and the name of Fulton should be cherished here with that 
of Washington ; if the one conducted us to liberty, the other 
has given us prosperity — the one broke the chains which 
bound us to a foreign country; the other has extended the 
channels of intercourse, and multiplied the ties which bind us 
to each other. 

" The rapidity with which new channels of trade have been 



72 Gould's history of river navigation. 

opened, and are now daily becoming developed, is astonishing ; 
but the improvements in navigation, and in the facilities for 
transporting merchandise by land and water, have been in- 
finitely greater and more remarkable. 

"It is needless to do more than mention the Indian canoe, 
the smallest and rudest of boats, but which, at a period but 
little beyond the memory of living witnesses, was the only 
vessel that navigated our western rivers. For the purpose of 
commerce they were entirely inadequate, and were never used 
in any regular branch of trade. 

" Previous to their intercourse with the whites, the canoes 
of the Indians must have been much more unwieldy, and im- 
perfect, than any that are now in use. They had no tools ex- 
cept the clumsy axes made of stone, of which we see speci- 
mens in our museums, and their canoes were made of solid logs 
by burning away the part intended to be removed. Some of 
the most distant tribes, who have little trade with our people, 
still pursue the same laborious and unsatisfactory process 
When iron tools were introduced, the eanoe assumed the 
present shape. 

" The birch canoe is peculiar to the northern regions, wdiere 
the tree which supplies the bark is found. These also were 
probably of the most crude and awkward construction, pre- 
vious to the visits of the French traders, under whose direc- 
tions they acquired the lightness, strength, and beauty, which 
have given them their celebrity. 

" The earliestJim|)rovement upon the canoe was the pirogue, 
an invention of the whites. Like the canoe, this boat is 
hewed out of solid log; the difference is, that the pirogue has 
greater width and capacity, and is composed of several pieces 
of timber as if the canoe was sawed lengthwise into two equal 
sections, and a broad flat piece of timber inserted in the mid- 
dle, so as to give greater breadth of beam to the vessel. This 
was probably the identical process by which the Europeans, 
unable to procure planks to build boats, began in the first in- 
stance to enlarge canoes to suit their purposes. They were 
often used as ferry boats, to transport horses across our 
rivers, and we have frequently seen them in operation, of a 
sufficient size to effect their object in perfect safety. 

" These were succeeded by the barge, the keel, and the flat- 
boat. Of the two first, 'the barffe was the larg-est, had the 
greatest breadth, and the best accommodations for passengers ; 
the keel was longer, has less depth, and was better fitted to. 
run in shallow channels. They were navigated by a rude and 
lawless class of men, who became distini2:uished as well for 



FIRST CARGO FROM NEW ORLEANS TO PITTSBURGH. 73 

their drolleries, as for their predatory and ferocious habits. 
In the then thinly scattered state of the population, their 
numbers rendered them formidable, as there were few vil- 
lages on the rivers, and still fewer settlements, which con- 
tained a sutiicieut number of able-bodied men to cope with the 
crew of a barge, consisting usually of thirty or fort}' hands; 
while the arrival of several of these boats together made them 
completely masters of the place. Their mode of life, and the 
facilities they possessed of evading the law, were such as 
would naturally make them reckless. Much of the distance 
through which they traveled in their voyages was entire wil- 
derness, where they neither witnessed the courtesies of life, nor 
felt any of the restraints of law; and where for days, perhaps 
weeks, together, they associated only with each other. The 
large rivers whose meanders they pursued formed the bounda- 
ries of States, so that living continually on the lines which 
divided different civil jurisdictions, they could pass with ease 
from one to the other, and never be made res[)onsib]e to any. 

" One of the earliest attempts at an intercourse with New 
Orleans, by the river, is so remarkable as to deserve a sepa- 
rate mention. In 1776, Messrs. Gibson and Linn, the grand- 
father of Dr. Linn, now a Senator in Congress from Missouri, 
descended by water from Pittsburgh to New Orleans to })ro- 
cure military stores for the troops stationed at the former 
place. They completely succeeded in their hazardous enter- 
prise, and brought back a cargo of one hundred and thirty-six 
kegs of gunpowder. On reaching the falls of the Ohio, 
on their return in the spring of 1777, they were obliged to 
unload their boats, and cany the cargo round the rapids, 
each of their men carrying three kegs at a time on his back. 
The powder was delivered at Wheeling, and afterwards trans- 
ported to Fort Pitt. 

'* The character of Mike Fink, ' the last of the boatmen,' 
has been rendered familiar to most readers, by the pen of 
one of our best writers. He was a leader of the men of 
his own class ; and was famous for his herculean strength, 
his contempt of danger, his frolics, and his depredations, 
lie was a coarse, vulgar, desperate man — yet possessed a 
degree of humor, hilarity, and openness, that made him 
remarkable, and conciliated for him a sort of popularity, 
which caused him to he universally known, and still preserves 
his name in tradition. In his calling, as a master of a boat, 
he was faithful — a quality which seems to have belonged to 
most of his class; for it is a singular fact, that lawless 
and wild as these men were, the valuable cargoes of mer- 



74 Gould's history of river navigation. 

chandise committed to their care, and secured by no other 
bond than their integrity, were always carried safely to 
their places of destination and the traveler, however weak, 
or however richly freighted, relied securely on their pro- 
tection. 

" In the earlier periods of this navigation, the boats em- 
ployed in it were liable to attacks from the Indians, who em- 
plo3^ed a variety of artifices to decoy the crews into their 
power. Sometimes a single individual, disguised in the ap- 
parel of some unhappy white man, who had fallen into their 
hands, appeared on the shore making signals of distress, and 
counterfeiting the motions of a wounded man. The crew 
supposing him to be one of their countrymen, who had es- 
caped from the Indians, would draw near the shore for the 
purpose of taking him on board; nor would they discover the 
deception until, on touching the bank, a fierce band of painted 
warriors would rush upon them from an artfully contrived 
ambuscade. Sometimes the savages crawled to the water's 
edge, wrapped in the skins of bears, and thus allured 
the boatmen, who were ever ready to exchange the oar 
for the rifle. But the red warriors were often sufficiently 
numerous to attempt, by open • violence, that which they 
found ditficult to accomplish by artiHce, against men as wary, 
and as expert in border warfare as themselves, and boldly 
pursued the boats in their canoes, or rushed upon the boat- 
men, when the incidents or the perils of the navigation drove 
them to the shore. 

" These boats, but rarely using sails, and receiving only an 
occasional impulse from their oars, descended the stream with 
a speed but little superior, at any time, to that of the current ; 
while they met with many accidents and delays to lengthen the 
voyage. A month was usually consumed in the passage from 
Pittsburgh to New Orleans, while the return voyage was not af- 
fected in less than four months, nor without a degree of toil 
and exposure to which nothing but the hardiest frames, and 
the most indomitable spirits, would have been equal. The 
heavily laden boats were propelled against the strong current 
by poles, or, where the stream was too deep to admit the use 
of those, drawn by ropes. The former process required the 
exertion of great strength and activity, but the latter was even 
more difficult and discouraging — as the laborer, obliged by 
the heat of the climate to throw aside his clothing, and expose 
to the burning rays of the sun, was forced to travel on the 
heated sand, to wade through mire, to climb precipitous banks, 
to push his way through brush, and often to tread along 



THE INDIAN BIRCH CANOE. 75 

the undermined shore, which giving away under his feet pre- 
cipitated him into the edd3nng torrent of the Mississippi. 
After a day spent in toils whicii strained every muscle to its 
utmost power of exertion, he threw himself down to sleep, 
perhaps in the open air, exposed to the cold damps and noxious 
exhalation of the Lower Mississippi, and the ferocious attacks 
of millions of mo^^quitoes, and reposed as unconscious of dan- 
ger, or inconvenience, as the native alligator which bellowed 
in the surrounding swamps. 

" The flat-boat was introduced a little later than the others. 
It is a strong boat, with a perfectly flat bottom, and perpen- 
dicular sides ; and covered throughout its whole length. Be- 
ing constructed to float only with the current, it never returns 
after descending the river. These boats were formerly used 
much by emigrating families, to tran-port themselves down 
the Ohio, are still built in great numbers on the various tribu- 
tary streams, and floated oat in high water, with produce for 
New Orleans. 

"The French, who navigated the northern lakes, the Missis- 
sippi and its tributaries, adopted, in their trade, the use of the 
Indian birch canoe. jNIcKenny, in his " Tour to the Lakes,'* 
thus describes one of those boats. 

"Its length w'as thirty feet, its breadth across the widest 
part, about four feet. It is about two and one-half feet dee[) 
in the center, but only about two feet near the bow and stern, 
bottom is rounded, and has no keel. 

"The materials of which this canoe are built are birch 
bark and red cedar, the whole fastened together with wattap 
and gum, without a nail, or bit of iron of any sort, to confine 
the parts. The entire outside is bark — the bark of the birch 
tree — and where the edges join at the bottom or along the 
sides they are sewn with this wattap, and then along the seam 
it is gummed. Next to the bark are pieces of cedar, shaven 
thin, not thicker than a blade of a knife — these run horizon- 
tally, and are pressed against the bark by means of these ribs 
of cedar, which fit the shape of the canoe, bottom and sides, 
and coming up to the edges are pointed and let into a rim of 
cedar about an inch and a half wide, and an inch thick, that 
forms the gunwale of the canoe, and to these, by means of 
the wattap, the bark and ribs are all sewed; the wattap being 
wrapped over the gunwale of the canoe, and to these, by 
means of the wattap the bark and ribs are all sewed ; the wat- 
tap being wrapped over the gunwale, and passed through the 
bark and ribs. Across the canoe are bars, some five or six, to 
keep it in shape. These are fastened by bringing their enda 



76 Gould's history of uivkr navigation. 

against the gunwale, or edge, and fastening them to it with 
wattap. The seats of the voyageurs are alongside of, but be- 
low the bars, and are of plank, some four inches wide, which 
are swung, by means of two pieces of rope, passed through 
each end, from the gunwale." 

♦' These boats are so light, and so easily damaged, that pre- 
cautions were necessary to be taken in loading them, yet the 
one described above carried not less than two thousand pounds. 
With these frail vessels the French navigated the Western 
rivers, and crossed the largest lakes, carrying on a most exten- 
sive traffic. The great peculiarity of this navigation is, that 
these light canoes are carried with facility from one river to 
another, or around the rapids and cascades, over which they 
cannot float. Their lading is accordingly made up into pack- 
ages, each of which may be carried by one man, and these are 
transported over the portages, on the backs of the engages, by 
means of straps passed over the forehead. These boats are 
still used in the fur trade. 

" As a curious illustration of the rapid improvement of 
our Western vessels, and the growth of our trade, I copy the 
following advertisement from a newspaper called The Senti- 
nel of the Norlltweslern Territory, under date of Saturday, 
flanuary 11, 1794, by which it will be seen that at that time 
four keel boats, carrying probably not more than twenty tons 
each, were supposed to be sufficient for the trade between 
Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and that these were prepared to 
defend themselves against enemies." 



77 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE FIRST PASSENGER BOATS ON THE OHIO. 

TWO boats for the present will start from Cincinnati for 
Pittsburgh, and return to Cincinnati in the following 
manner, viz. : — 

" First boat leaves Cincinnati this morning at eight o'clock, 
and return to Cincinnati, so as to be ready to sail again in 
four weeks from this date. 

" Second boat will leave Cincinnati on Saturday, the 30th 
inst., and return to Cincinnati in four weeks as above. 

"And so regularly, each boat performing the voyage to and 
from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh once in every four weeks. 

" Two boats, in addition to the above, will shortly be com- 
pleted and regulated in such a manner that one boat of the 
four will set out weekly from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, and 
return in like manner. 

" The proprietor of these boats, has naturally considered 
the many inconveniences and dangers incident to the common 
method hitherto adopted by navigating the Ohio, and being 
influenced by a love of philanthopy and a desire of being 
serviceable to the public, has taken great pains to render the 
accommodation on board the boats as agreeable and convenient 
as they could possibly be made. 

" No danger need be apprehended from the enemy, as every 
person on board will be under cover made proof against rifle 
or musket balls, and convenient port-holes for firing out of. 
Each of the boats are armed with six pieces carrying a pound 
ball; also a number of good muskets, and amply supplied with 
plenty of ammunition; strongly manned with choice hands, 
and the masters of approved knowledge. 

" A separate cabin from that designed for the men is parti- 
tioned off in each boat, for accommodating ladies on their 
passage. Conveniences are constructed on board each boat, 
so as to render landing unnecessary, as it might, at times, be 
attended with danger. 

"Rules and regulations for maintaining order on board, and 
for the good management of the boats and tables accurately 
calculated for the rates of freightage, for passengers and car- 
riage of letters to and from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh; also a 
table of the exact time of the arrival and departure to and 
from the different places on the Ohio, between Cincinnati and 



Is Gould's history of kiver navigation. 

Pittsburgh, may be seen on board each boat, and at the print- 
ing office in Cincinnati. Passengers will be supplied with pro- 
visions and liquors of all kinds of the lirst quality, at the most 
reasonable rates possible. Persons desirous of working their 
passage will be admitted on finding themselves; subject, how- 
ever, to the same order and directions from the master of the 
boats as the rest of the working hands of the boat's crew. 

" An Office of Insurance will be kept at Cincinnati, Lime- 
stone, and Pittsburgh, where persons, desirous of having 
their property insured, may apply. The rates of insurance 
will be moderate." 

Such were the vessels in which the whole trade of the West- 
ern rivers was carried on, previous to the year 1811. Nor was 
the transportation by land farther advanced in improvement. 
The few roads that crossed the mountains were so wretchedly 
bad that wagons toiled over them with great difficulty, and a 
large portion of the merchandise was curried on the backs of 
horses. Even that was considered a triumphant result of en- 
terprise, and arapid advance in improvement; for a few years 
only had then advanced, since Mr. Brown, a delegate from 
Kentucky, in Congress, had been smiled at as a visionary, by 
the members of that august body, for asking the establish- 
ment of a mail to Pittsburgh, to be carried on horseback once 
in two weeks. He was told that such a mail was not needed, 
that it would probably never be required, and that the obstacles 
of the road were insuperable. That venerable patriot has lived 
to see the establishment of two daily mails on the same route ; 
while the canals, the railways, and the turnpikes that lead to 
the West, have rendered it accessible with ease and safety, to 
ever}^ species of vehicle. 

We proceed now to give some account of the steamboat 
navigation of these rivers, and shall first speak of isome early 
attempts towards the accomplishment of this object. 

Mr. James Rumsey, of Berkely County, Virginia, invented a 
plan for propelling boats by steam as early as 1782, and in 
1784 obtained from the Legislature of Virginia the exclusive 
right of navigating her waters with such boats. In 1788, he 
published his project, in general terms, together with numerous 
certificates from the most respectable characters in Virginia, 
among whom was General Washington, all of which assert, 
that a steamboat was actually constructed which moved, with 
her burden on board, at the rate of three or four miles an hour, 
against the current of the Potomac, although the machinery 
was in a very imperfect state. In 1819, his brother. Dr. 
Rumsey, of Kentucky, built a boat after this model; and at 



JAMKS RUxMSKY AXD JOHN FITCH. 79 ' 

that time it was said that the Rumsej phin united simplicity, 
strength, economy, and lightness in a degree, far superior to 
any other. The more complex machinery of Bolton and West, 
Fulton and Evans, have, however, been more successful. 

In 1785, John Fitch, a watchmaker in Philadelphia, con- 
ceived the design of propelling a boat by steam. He was both 
poor and illiterate, and many difficulties occurred to frustrate 
every attempt he made, to try the practicability of his invention. 
Reapplied to Congress for assistance, but was refused; and 
then offered his invention to the Spanish government, to be 
used in the navigation of the Mississippi, but without an}^ bet- 
ter success. At length a company was formed, and funds sub- 
scribed for the building of a steamboat, and in the year 1788, 
his vessel was launched on the Delaware. Many crowded to 
see and ridicule the novel, and, as they supposed, the chimeri- 
cal experiment. 

It seems that the idea of wheels had not occurred to Mr. 
Fitch; but instead of them, oars were used, which worked in 
frames. He was confident of success; and when the boat was 
ready for the trial, she started otf in good style for Burling- 
ton. Those who had sneered began to stare, and they who 
had smiled in derision looked grave. Away went the boat, and 
the happy inventor triumphed over the skepticism of an unbe- 
lieving public. The boat performed her trip to Burlington, a 
distance of twenty miles: but unfortunately burst her boiler 
in rounding to the wharf at that phice. and the next tide floated 
her back to the city. Fitch persevered, and with great diffi- 
culty procured another l)oiler. Aftersome time, the boat per- 
formed another trip to Burlington and Trenton, and returned 
in the same day. She is said to have moved at the rate of 
eight miles an hour ; but something was continually breaking, 
and the unhappy projector only conquered one difficulty to 
encounter another. Perhaps this was not owing to any de- 
fects in his plans, but to the low state of the arts at that time, 
and the difficulty of getting such complex machinery made 
with proper exactness. Fitch became embarrassed with debt, 
and was obliged to abandon the invention, after having satis- 
fied himself of its practical)ility. 

This ingenious man, who was probably the first inventor of 
the steamboat, wrote three volumes, which he deposited in 
manuscript, sealed up, in the Philadelphia library, to be opened 
thirty years after his death. When, or why, he came to the 
West we have not learned; but it is recorded of him, that he 
died and was buried near the Ohio. His three volumes were 
opened about five years ago, and were found to contain his 



80 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

speculations on mechanics. He details his embarrassments 
and disappointments, with a feeling which shows how ardent- 
ly he desired success, and which wins for him the sympathy of 
those who have heart enough to mourn over the blighted pros- 
pects of genius. He confidently predicts the future success 
of the plan, which, in his hands, failed only for the want of 
pecuniary means. He prophesies that, in less than a century, 
we shall see our Western rivers swarming with steamboats ; 
and expresses a wish to be buried on the shores of the Ohio, 
where the song of the boatmen may enliven the stillness of 
hii? resting place, and the music of the steam engine sooth his 
spirit. What an idea ! Yet how natural to the mind of an 
ardent projector whose whole life had been devoted to the one 
darling object, which it was not his destiny to accomplish ! 
And how touching is the sentiment found in one of his jour- 
nals: " The day will come when some more powerful man 
will get fame and riches from my invention ; but nobody will 
believe that poor John Fitch can do any thing worthy of at- 
tention." In less than thirty years after his death, his pre- 
dictions were verified. He must have died about the year 
1799. 

" The first steamboat built on the Western waters," says a 
writer in the Western Monthly Magazine ^ " was the Orleans, 
built at Pittsburg in 1811; there is no account of more than 
seven or eight, built previously to 1817; from that period they 
have been rapidly increasing in number, character, model, 
and style of workmanship, until 1825, when two or three boats 
built about that period were declared by common consent to be 
the finest in the world. Since that time, we are informed, 
some of the New York and Chesapeake boats rival and proba- 
bly surpass us, in richness and beauty of internal decoration. 
As late as 1816, the practicability of navigating the Ohio with 
steamboats was esteemed doubtful ; none but the most san- 
guine argued favorably. The writer of this well remembers 
that in 1816, observing,, that in company with a number of 
gentlemen, the long struggles of a stern-wheel boat to ascend 
Horse-tail ripple (five miles below Pittsburgh), it was the 
unanimous opinion, that " such a contrivance " might conquer 
the ditficulties of the Mississippi as high as Natchez, but that 
we of the Ohio must wait for " some more happy century of 
invention. " 

We can add another anecdote to that of our friend which we 
have quoted. About the time that Fulton was building his 
first boat at Pittsburgh, he traveled across the mountains in a 
stage, in company with several young gentlemen from Ken- 



ROBERT FULTON'S PREDICTION. 81 

tucky. His mind was teeminnj with those projects, the success- 
ful accomplishment of which has since rendered his name il- 
lustrious — and his conversation turned chiefly upon steam, 
steamboats, and facilities for transportation. Upon these sub- 
jects he spoke frankly, and his incredulous companions, much 
as they respected the genius of the projector, were greatly 
amused at what they considered the extragavance of his expec- 
tations. • As the journey lasted several days, and the party 
grew familiar with each other, they ventured to jest with Mr. 
Fulton, by asking him if he could do this, and that, by steam; 
and a hearty laugh succeeded whenever the singleminded and 
direct inventor asserted the power of his favorite element. At 
length, in the course of some conversation on the almost im- 
passable nature of the mountains, over which they were dragged 
with great toil, upon roads scarcely practicable, for wheels, 
Mr. Fulton remarked, " the day will come, gentlemen — I may 
not live to see it, but some of you, who are younger, probably 
will — when carriages will be drawn over these mountains by 
steam engines, at a rate more rapid than that of a stage upon 
the smoothest turnpike." The apparent absurdity of this pre- 
diction, together with the gravity with which it was uttered, 
excited the most obstreperous mirth in this laughter-loving 
company, who roared, shouted, and clapped their hands, in 
the excess of their merry excitement. This anecdote was re- 
peated to us by one of the party ; who, two years ago, on find- 
ing himself rapidly leceding from Baltimore in a railroad car, 
recollected the prediction of Fulton, made twenty years 
before. 



82 Gould's history of river navigation. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

IN a small book published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 
1811, called the " Naviffator, " is found about the first 
connected account of the intention and purpose of Fulton and 
Livingston to introduce steamboats on to the inland waters 
of the West. It says: 

"There is now on foot a new method of navigating our 
"Western waters, — particularly the Ohio and Mississippi Riv- 
ers. This is by boats propelled by the power of steam. This 
plan has been carried into successful operation on the Hud- 
sou River, in New York, and on the Delaware between New 
Castle and Burlington. It has been stated the one on the 
Hudson goes at the rate of four miles an hour against wind 
and tide, on her route between New York and Albany, and 
with five hundred passengers on board frequently. From these 
successful experiments there can be but little doubt of the plan 
succeeding on the Western waters, and proving of immense 
advantage to the commerce of our country." 

A Mr. Roosevelt, of enterprise and who is acting, it is said 
in connection with Messrs. Fulton and Livingston, of New York, 
has a boat of this kind on the stocks at Pittsburgh, of 138 
feet keel, calculated for 300 or 400 tons burden. And there 
is one building at Frankfort, Kentucky, by citizens, who will 
no doubt push the enterprise. It will prove a novel sight, and 
as pleasing as novel, to see a large boat working its way up 
the windings of the Ohio, without the appearance of sail, oar, 
or pole, or any manual labor about her, moving within the 
secrets of her own wonderful machinery, and propelled by a 
power undiscoverable." 

FIRST TRIP of the NEW ORLEANS, 1811. 

[From I. H. B. Latrobe's address before the Maryland Historical Society, 

1882.] 

** Prior to the introduction of steamboats on Western waters, 
the means of transportation thereon consisted of keel-boats, 
barges and flat-boats. The two former ascended as well as 
descended the stream. The flat-boat, or " broad horn," was 
broken up for its lumber on arrival at its place of destination. 
Whether steam could be employed on Western rivers was a 
question. Its success between New York and Albany was not 
considered as having been solved satisfactorily, and after the 
idea had been suggested of building a boat at Pittsburgh, to 



ROOSEVELT'S SURVEY OF THE RIVER. 83 

ply between Natchez and New Orleans, it was considered nec- 
essary, investigations should be made, as to the currents of the 
rivers to be navigated. These investigations were undertaken 
by Nicholas J. Roosevelt, with the understanding that if the 
report was favorable, Chancellor Livingston, Robert Fulton, 
and himself were to be etjually interested in the undertaking. 
Livingston and Fulton were to supply the ca})ital, and Roose- 
velt was to superintend the building of the boat and engine. 

*' He accordingly repaired to Pittsburg in 1809, accom- 
panied by his bride, where he built a tiat boat, which was to 
contain all the comforts for himself and wife to float them 
with the current from Pittsburg to New Orleans, and this boat 
was the home of the young couple for six months. He 
reached New Orleans about the first of December, 1809, and 
returned home to New York by the first vessel. Mr. Roose- 
velt had made up his mind that steam was to do the work and 
his visit was to ascertain how it could best be done upon the 
"Western streams. He guaged them and measured them at 
different seasons and obtained all the statistical information 
within his reach. Finding coal on the banks of the Ohio, he 
purchased them and opened mines of that mineral, and so con- 
fident was he of the success of his project that he caused piles 
of fresh fuel to be heaped up on the shore in anticipation of 
the wants of steamboats whose keels had not yet been laid and 
whose existence depended upon the reports he should make to 
capitalists, without whose aid the plan would have temporarily 
at least to be abandoned. iNIr. Roosevelt's report so impressed 
Fulton and Livingston, that in the spring of 1810 he was sent 
to Pittsl)urgh to superintend the building of the first steam- 
boat that was launched on the Western waters. 

" On the Alleghany side, close by the creek and immedi- 
ately under a bluff called Boyd's hill, the keel of Roosevelt's 
vessel was laid. The railroad depot of the Pittsburgh and Con- 
Delsville road now occupies the ground (1882). The size and 
plan of this steamboat was furnished by Robert Fulton. It 
was to be one hundred and sixteen feet in length and twenty 
feet beam. The engine was to have a thirty-four inch 
cylinder and the boiler, etc., was to be in proportion. To 
obtain the timber men were sent into the forest to obtain the 
ribs, knees and beams, transport them to the Monongahela, 
and raft them to the ship yard. The ship builders, me- 
chanics, etc., for the machinery department, had to be brought 
from New York. 

*' A rise in the river set all the buoyant materials afloat, 
and at one time it seemed as if the vessel would be lifted 



84 Gould's history of river navigation. 

from its ways and be laiinchetl before its time. At length 
the boat was launched, at a cost of near thirty-eight thousand 
dollars and was named " New Orleans," after the place of her 
permanent destination. As the New Orleans approached 
completion and it became known that Mrs. Roosevelt intended 
to accompany her husband, friends endeavored to disuade her 
from the utter folly, if not absolute madness of the voyage. 
Her husband was told he had no right to peril her life, how- 
ever reckless he might be of his own. The wife, however 
believed in her husband, and after a short experimental trip 
in September, the New Orleans commenced her voyage. There 
were two cabins. One aft for ladies and a larger one forward 
for gentlemen. In the former there were four berths. Mr. 
and Mrs. Roosevelt took possession of the cabin, as they were 
the only passengers. There was a captain, an engineer, 
named Baker, Andrew Sack, the pilot, six hands, two female 
servants, a man waiter, a cook and an immense Newfoundland 
dog, named " Tiger." Thus equipped and manned the New 
Orleans began the voyage which changed the relations of the 
West and the East and which may almost be said to have 
changed its destiny. The people of Pittsburgh turned out en 
iiuisse and lined the banks of the Monongahela to witness the 
departure of the steamboat, and shout after shout rent the air, 
handkerchiefs were waved and hats thrown up in " God 
speed " when the anchor was weighed and when she disap- 
peared behind the first headlands, on the right bank of the 
Ohio. 

" Too much excited to sleep, Mr. Roosevelt and his wife 
passed the greater part of the first night on deck and watched 
the shore, then almost covered with a dense forest, as beach 
after beach, and bend after bend, were passed with a speed of 
from eight to ten miles per hour. On the second night after 
leaving Pittsburg the New Orleans rounded to opposite Cin- 
cinnati and cast anchor in the stream. Levees and wharf- 
boats were things then unknown in 1811. Here, as in Pitts- 
burg, the whole town seemed to have assembled on the bank, 
and many of their former acquaintances came out in small 
boats to welcome them. 'Well, you are as good as youi 
word, you have visited us with a steamboat,' they said; ' but 
we see you for the last time. Your boat may go down the 
river, but as to coming up, the idea is an absurd one.' The 
keel-boat men crowded around the strangle visitor and shook 
their heads and bandied river wit with the crew, that had been 
selected from their own calling for the first voyage. Some 
flat-boatmen, whose arks had been passed a short distance 



ARRIVAL OF THE NEW ORLEANS AT LOUISVILLE. 85 

above town, who now floated by with the current, seemed to 
have a better opinion and proposed a tow in case they were 
again overtaken. But as to the boats returning, all agreed 
that tJiat could never be. 

*' The stay at Cincinnati was brief, only long enough to 
take a supply of wood for the voyage to Louisville, which was 
reached on the night of the fourth day after leaving Pitts- 
burgh. 

" It was midnight on the first of October, 1811, that the 
New Orleans dropped anchor opposite the town. There was a 
brilliant moon. It was almost as light as day and no one 
on board had retired. The roar of the escaping steam, then 
heard for the first time, roused the population, and as late as 
it was came rushing to the bank of the river to learn the 
cause of* the unwonted uproar. A letter written by one on 
board records the fact that these were people who insisted 
that the comet of 1811 had fallen into the Ohio and produced 
the hubbub. A public dinner was given Mr. Roosevelt a few 
days After arrival, complimentary toasts were drunk, and the 
usual amount of good feeling on such occasions was manifested. 
The success of the steamboat in navigating dovvn stream was 
acknowledged. But her return up stream was deemed im- 
possil)le, and it was regretted that it was the first and the last 
time a steamboat would he seen above the falls of the Ohio, 

" Not to be outdone in hospitality, Mr, Roosevelt invited hi^ 
hosts to dine on board the New Orleans, which still lay an- 
chored opposite the town. The company met in the forward or 
gentlemen's cabin, and the feast was at its height, when sud- 
denly was heard rumblings, accompanied by a very percept- 
ible motion of the vessel. The company had but one idea — 
the New Orleans hid escaped from her anchor, and was drift- 
ing towards the falls, to the certain destruction of all on board. 
There was an instant rush to the upper deck when the com- 
pany found, instead of drifting towards the falls of the Ohio, 
the New Orleans was making good headway up the river, and 
would soon leave Louisville in the distance down stream. As 
the engine warmed to its work and the steam blew off at the 
safety valve the speed increased. 

" Mr Roosvelt had, of course, provided this mode of con- 
vincing his incredulous, and their surprise and delight may 
be readil}^ imagined. 

" After going up the river a few miles the New Orleans re- 
turned to the anchorage. On leaving Pittsburgh it was deter- 
mined to proceed as rapidly as possible to New Orleans and to 
place the boat on the route for which she was designed between 



86 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVEU NAVIGATION. 

that city and Natchez. It was found, however, on reaching; 
Louisville there was not sufBcient depth of water on the falls 
of the Ohio to permit the vessel to pass over them with safety. 
The New Orleans therefore returned to Cincinnati convinc- 
ing the most incredulous of her {)ower to steam the current of 
the river. 

" The waters having risen, the boat returned to Louisville 
and safely passed through the rapids, crowds collecting to see 
her departure. Instinctively each one on board grasped the 
nearest object, and with baited breath waited the result. 
Black ledges of rock , appeared only to disappear as the boat 
Hashed by them. The waters whirled and eddied and threw 
their spray upon the deck, as a more rapid descent caused the 
vessel to pitch forward to what at times seemed certain de- 
struction. Not a w^ord was spoken. The pilot directed the men 
at the helm by motion of the hands. Even the great New- 
foundland dog seemed affected by the apprehension of danger, 
and crouched at Mr. Roosevelt's feet. The tension on the 
nervous system was too great to be long sustained. Fortun- 
ately the passage was soon made and with feelings of profound 
gratitude to the Almighty at the successful issue of the ad- 
venture on the part of Mr. and Mrs. lioosevelt, the New Or- 
leans rounded to in safety at the foot of the falls. Hitherto 
the voyage had been one of exclusive pleasure, but now were 
to come, in the words of the letter referred to, ' those days of 
horror. ' 

" The comet had disappeared and the earthquake of thai 
year which accompanied the New Orleans far on her way 
down the Mississippi, the first shock of which was felt while 
she lay at anchor, after passing the falls. On one occasion a 
large canoe, fully manned, came out of the woods abreast of the 
steamboat and paddled after it. There was at once a race, 
but the steam had the advantao;e of endurance, and the Indians 
with wild shouts soon gave up the chase. 

" One night there was an alarm of tire. The servant had 
placed some green wood too near the stove in the forward 
cabin, which caught fire and communicated to the joiner work 
of the cabin, when the servant, half suffocated, rushed on 
deck and gave the alarm. By great exertion the fire was ex- 
ting-uished. 

"At New Madrid, a greater portion of which had been en- 
gulfed, terror-stricken people begged to be taken on board, 
while others, dreading the steamboat more than the earthquake, 
hid themselves as she a})proached. Having an insutficient 
supply of provisions for any large increase of passengers, the 



EARTHQUAKE AT NKW MADRID 87 

requests to be taken on board had to be denied. The earth- 
quake had so changed the channel of the river that the pilots 
guided the boat more by luck than knowledge. As the steam- 
boat passed out of the region of the earthquake, the principal 
inconvenience was the number of shoals, snags and sawyers. 
These were safely passed and the vessel came in sight of 
Natchez and rounded to opposite the landing place. 

" Expecting to remain here a day or two the engineer had 
allowed his tires to go down so th'it when the boat turned her 
head up stream it lost headway altogether, and was being car- 
ried by the current far below the intended landing. Thou- 
sands were assembled on the bluff and at the foot of it, and 
for a moment it seemed that the New Orleans had achieved 
what she had done so far that she might be overcome at last. 
Fresh fuel, however, was added, the engine was stopped, that 
steam might accumulate. Presently the safet}^ valve was 
lifted, a few turns of the wheel steadied the boat, a few more 
gave her headway, and overcoming the Mississippi she gained 
the shore amidst shouts of exultation and applause. The 
romance of the voyage ended at Natchez, where the same hos- 
pitalities were extended to Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt that were 
enjoyed at Louisville. From thence to New Orleans there 
was no occurrence worthy of note. 

"Although forming no part of the story of the voyage 
proper, says Mr. Latrobe, as this has been called a romance, 
and all romances end, or should end in marriage, the incident 
is not wanting here. For the captain of the boat falling in 
love with Mrs. Roosevelt's maid, prosecuted his suit so succes- 
fully as to find himself an accepted lover when the New 
Orleans reached Natchez. A clergyman being sent for a 
wedding marked the arrival of the boat at the chief city of the 
Mississippi." 

(Mrs. Roosevelt was a sister of Mr. Latrobe, who seems to 
have been a passenger on the New Orleans during this, her first 
trip.) 

The following reference to the voyage of exploration con- 
tained in a recent letter from Mrs. Roosevelt to the writer 
ma}' not be uninteresting: — 

" The journey in the flat-boat commenced at Pittsburgh, 
where Mr. Roosevelt had it built; a huge box containing a 
comfortable bed-room, dining-room, pantry, and a room in 
front for the crew, with a fire-place, where the cooking was 
done. The top of the boat was flat, with seats and an awning. 
We had on board a pilot, three hands and a man cook. We 
always stopped at night, lashing the boat to the shore. The 



88 Gould's history of river navigation. 

row bout was a lar2:e one, in which Mr. Eoosevolt went out 
constantly vvithtwo or three of the men to ascertain tlie rapid- 
ity of the ripples or current. It was in this row boat we went 
from Natchez to New Orleans with the same crew," * * * 
** We reached New Orleans about the 1st of December, 1809, 
and took passage for New York in the first vessel we found 
ready to sail. We had a terrible voyage of a month, with a 
sick captain. The yellow fever was on board. A passenger, 
a nephew of General Wilkinson, died with it, Mr. Roosevelt 
and myself were taken off the ship by a pilot boat and landed 
at Old Point Comfort. From thence we went to New York by 
stage, reaching there the middle of January, 1810, after an ab- 
sence of nine months. 

" Once, while in the flat-boat, ontheMississippi, Mr. Roose- 
velt was aroused in the night by seeing two Indians in our 
sleeping room, calling for whisky, when Mr. Roosevelt had to 
get up and give it to them before he could induce them to 
leave the boat." 

The exploring voyage proper ended with the arrival of the 
dat-boat at Natchez, but Mrs. Roosevelt's account of the sub- 
sequent boat voyage to New Orleans is, perhaps, worth adding, 
if only for the sake of the comparison that it suggests: — 

"By placing," says Mrs. Roosevelt, "a large traveling 
trunk between the stern of the boat and the first seat, it made 
a large level place on which we could spread a buffalo robe to 
sleej) on. Our pilot, who had lived all his life as a l)oatman 
on these waters, assured us that there would be no difiiculty 
in findins; lodffino^s for the few niijhts we should be out. But 
it appeared that the inhabitants on the river had been so often 
imposed on by travelers whom they had received into their 
houses, that they refused all applications. A pouring rain 
came up one evening, and we tried to reach Baton Rouge, 
which we did at nine at night. It was a miserable place at 
that time, with one wretched public house; yet we felt thank- 
ful that we had found a shelter from the storm. But when I 
was shown into our sleeping room I wished myself on board 
the boat. It was a forlorn little place opening out of the bar 
room, which was filled with tipsy men looking like cut-throats. 
The room had one window opening into a stable-yard, but 
which had neither shutters nor fastenings. Its furniture was 
a single chair and a dirty bed. We threw our cloaks on the 
bed and laid down to rest, but not to sleep, for the fighting 
and the noise in the bar-room prevented that. We rose at the 
dawn of day, and reached the boat, feeling thankful we had not 
been murdered in the night. It is many, many years ago; 



ROOSEVELT AND A\ IFE FROM NATCHEZ TO NEW ORLEANS, ^d 

l)ut I can still recall thatniijht of fright. Our second nifjht on 
shore was passed with an old French cou[)le, who allowed us 
to spread our buffalo robes on the floor before a tine large tire, 
where we felt safe, though disturbed once or twice during the 
night by the people coming into the room we occupied, and 
kneeling before a crucifix which stood u})on a shelf. They 
were Roman Catholics. 

"The time actually occupied by the voyage from Natchez 
to New Orleans in the row-boat was nine days. Two of these 
nights were passed as above described, under a roof ; four in 
the boat, partly drawn out of the water, and hearing the alli- 
gators scratch on the sides, taking it for a log; when a knock 
with a cane would alarm them, and they would splash down 
into the water; the remaining three nights were passed on a 
buffalo robe on the sand beach, feeling every moment, that 
something terrible might happen before morning." 

In the langiuige of a very intelligent traveler of those 
days: " Many things conspired to make the year 1811 the 
annus mirahilis of the West. During the earlier months the 
waters of many of the great rivers overflowed their banks to 
a vast extent, and the whole country was in many i)arts covered 
from bluff to bluff. Unprecedented sickness foUowed. A 
spirit of change and recklessness seemed to pervade the very 
inhabitants of the forest. A countless multitude of squirrels, 
obeying some great and universal impulse, which none can 
know but the Spiritthat gave them being, left their reckless and 
gamboling life, and their ancient places of retreat in the North, 
and were seen pressing forward by tens of thousands in a deep 
and solid phalanx to the South. No obstacles seemed to check 
their extraordinary and concerted movement. The word had 
been given them to go forth, and they obeyed it, though mul- 
titudes perished in the broad Ohio which lay in their path. 
The splendid comet of that year long continued to shed its 
twilight over the forests, and as the autumn drew to a close, 
the whole valley of the Mississipi)i, from the Missouri to the 
Gulf, was shaken to its center by continued earthquakes." — 
C J. Latrobe's Rambles in Novtli America. 



90 GOULD S HlSTOltY OF iilVER NAVIGATION. 



CHAPTEE XX. 

EXTRACT of a letter to the editors of the National 
Intelligencer, dated Pittsburg, April 2,2^ 1814: — 
" Messrs. Gales & Seaton, Washington: 

" This morning the steamboat Vesuvius, intended as a regf- 
ular trader between New Orleans and the Falls of the Ohio, 
left Pittsburg. A considerable fresh in the river rendered it 
probable that notwithstanding the great size and draft of the 
vessel, she will pass the falls without difficulty, after which 
she will meet with no obstruction in the rest of the pas- 
sage. 

There is now on the stocks here, just ready to be launched, 
a boat adapted to the navigation of the Ohio above the falls, 
which will be finished in time to meet the Vesuvius, on her re- 
turn from New Orleans, at the falls. 

The boats are built by Fulton, under the agency of Messrs. 
Livingston & Latrobe, for companies Avho have vested very 
large capital in the establishment. The departure of the 
Vesuvius is a very important event, not only for this place, 
but for the whole Western part of the Union. And its mflu- 
ence will be felt over the whole United States. 

In describing it it is not necessary to use the inflated lan- 
guage, which unfortunately for the credit of our trade too 
often renders real facts incredible, or at least lowers their im- 
portance by the manner in which they are puffed into 
notice. 

It does not require the ornament of metaphor to impress 
iv.on the public mind the incalculable advantage of an inter- 
-ourse by water, effected in large vessels which move with 
certainty and rapidit}^ through an extent of internal naviga- 
tion, embracing a space almost as large as the whole continent 
of Europe, and comprising in it the productions of almost 
every climate. 

This intercourse, although now almost in its infancy, must 
in a few years become of immense magnitude. 

About three years ago a steamboat of 400 tons burthen was 
built here, and now navigates the Mississippi between New 
Orleans and Natchez. 

The Vesuvius, which, with another boat of the same size 
and construction now building, is intended to form the second 
link in this chain of navigation, is of 480 tons burthen, carpen- 
ter's measurement. She has IGO feet keel, and 28.6 inches 



DEPAKTUUE OF THE VESUVIUS FROM PITTSBURG. 91 

beam, but will, when loaded, draw from .5 to 6 feet of water. 
The whole of her hold below deck, excepting a neat cabin for 
ladies, and the space occupied for machinery, rs appropriated 
to the cargo. 

On her deck is built what is knowm in a ship, and is called 
a Round house, extending half her length, and elegantly fitted 
u}) as a cabin, having twentj'-eight double berths on a side. 
Previously to iier departure she had been several times tried 
in going up and down the Monongahela and Ohio for four or 
five miles and performed very satisfactorily. 

This morning ( Sai urday, April 23 ), everything being in 
perfect order, at ten o'clock she passed up the Monongahela, 
in front of the tOAvn, to its eastern limits, and returning down 
the op[)Osite shore, went down the Ohio, firing a salute. jNlost 
of the citizens were assembled on the bank when she 
passed. 

In order to witness and ascertain her speed, I crossed the 
Alleghany and mounted a very elegant horse I endeavored to 
keep pace with her along the road which skirts the river. But 
she moved so rai)idl3' that after riding three miles and a half 
in nineteen minutes I gave up the attempt. 

In one hour and thirty seconds she was at Middletown, 
twelve miles below Pittsburgh, where several gentlemen, who 
had proceeded on her thus far, came on shore. If, therefore, 
the current of the Ohio be rated at four miles an hour in the 
fresh, she has gone at the rate of eight miles an hour in 
still water. 

In coming up the rapids of the Ohio below the town, on 
Monday last, she passed the shore at the rate of four miles 
in an hour, a speed that would exactly agree with her descent 
this morning. 

The extent of the growing commerce of this town is, I be- 
lieve, very inadequately understood to the eastward of the 
mountains. 

1 am informed by one of the most respectable merchants of 
this place that the amount of freight only of his consignments, 
to and from New Orleans and the States below Penn, will be 
this year $60,000 and every day adds to the extent and the 
facilities of the business carried on through Pittsburgh. 

The great difficulty. which has rendered the transportation 
by sea in time of peace from New Orleans to Philadephia and 
Baltimore and thence by land to the immense country west of 
the mountains, preferable to a voyage up the Mississippi and 
Ohio, has been the slowness of the keel boats and barges 
necessarily employed in the trade. The navigation by steam- 



92 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

boats proves an end to that only objection to this course of 
of trade, a course which in a few years will become the prin- 
cipal, if not the only one. 

Situated as I am at present, on the spot where the advan- 
tages which the public will reap from the introduction of steam 
navigation will be very sensibly felt, it is difficult to sup- 
press the expression of feelings which arise towards the per- 
son to whom we owe it, that this mode of navigation, so often 
before attempted and laid aside in despair, has become prac- 
ticable, and its principles reduced to mathematical certainty. 
But it is unnecessary in giving them vent. The obligation 
Avhich the nation, I had almost said the whole world, owes to 
him will be fully acknowledged by history, when the envy 
and cupidity of his detractors will be remembered with dis- 
gust and reprobation. 

It iji worthy your attention in Washington and Georgetown 
1o consider that between New Orleans and Washington there 
will be, when the road from Cumberland to Brownsville is 
completed, only seventy-two miles of land carriage, and that 
over a capital turnpike road. 

When the late Chancellor Livingston applied for his grant 
for the exclusive navigation bv steam on the North River to 
the Legislature of the State of New York, for thirty years, on 
condition that he should actuall}^ accomplish it, a very sen- 
sible member of the Legislature told me he could very easily 
have had a grant of any further extent, as the navigation by 
^team was thought to l)e mucii on a footing, as to practicability, 
with the navigation of the rehnleer in the Chancellor's park. 
The case has altered since then, for many people have found 
•out that it is an old invention, open to every body who can 
read Mr. Fulton's specifications or look at his boats. — files' 
Wteklij Reyister, Vol. 6, 1814. 



TIMK MADE BY THE VESUVIUS 93- 

CHAPTER XXI. 

STEAMBOAT BUFFALO 

"/^F 285 tons has been launched at Pittsburgh. She is de- 
v_>/ signed to [)ly reguhirly between that phice and Louisville 
once a month. And as she will draw when all her machinery is 
on board but two feet six inches, it is expected she will run all 
summer. If, however, she is found too large, other boats 
less bulky will be built, and she taken to a station below the 
falls, in the line to New Orleans. 

The steamboat Enterprise, built at Bridgeport, on the 
Monongahela, arrived- at Pittsburgh on the 8th, designed as a 
packet between that place and the falls of the Ohio. Her 
power was highly approved. She was tried against the cur- 
rent of the Monongahela, which was unusually high and ra])i(l 
at that season, and made three miles and a half per hour. 
She returned with the stream that distance in ten minutes. 

"ASTONISHING PASSAGE. 

The steamboat Vesuvius made the following passage from 
Pittsburgh to New Orleans: — 

From Pittsburgh to Shippingport, 67 hours and a half ; 
from Shippingport to Natchez, 125 hours and a half ; from 
Natchez to New Orleans, 33 hours. Total from Pittsburgh to 
New Orleans, 227 hours." — Niles' Weekhj Register, Vol. 6^ 
1814. 

"The steamboat Vesuvius went from Pittsburgh to Louis- 
ville, 767 miles, in 'oli hours and 25 minutes, equal to 10 1-2 
miles an hour. 

" The city of New York is enjoying immense advantage 
from those vessels as packets and ferryboats. Loaded wagons 
are hourly seen in that city from Long Island and New 
Jersey." 

" John L. Sullivan, of Boston, has obtained a patent for the 
use of steam, engine power in towing luggage boats, being a 
a new and useful application of steam engines, and put in 
practice by him on the Meiimack River. — Niles^ Weekly 
Register, Vol. 6, 1814. 

The steamboat Enterprise worked up from New Orleans to 
Bardstown, nearly 1,500 miles, in twenty-five days. 

It is calculated that the voyage by steamboats from New 



94 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Orleans to Pittsburgh, about 2,300 miles, will be made in 36 
days. 

" How do the rivers and canals of the old world dwindle 
into insignificance compared with this, and what a prospect of 
commerce is held out to the immense regions of the West by 
the means of these boats. It is thought that the freight from 
New Orleans to Louisville (at the falls of the Ohio) will soon, 
be reduced to $3.50 per hundred weight." — JSI lies' Register, 
Vol. 8, 1815. 

EARL OF LIVERPOOL. 

** Lord Sheffield, if I mistake not, is now nicknamed the 
* earl of Liverpool,' declared that the western part of the 
United States never could become commercial. Let his 
lordship take a map and trace the course of rivers from New 
Orleans to Brownsville and then read the following from 
a late newspaper published at the latter called the Brownsville 
Telegraph ;" — 

" Arrived at this port (my \oYA-port), on Monday last the 
steamboat Enterprise, Shrieve, of Bridgeport, from New Or- 
leans in ballast, havino; dischanred her cars^o at Pittsburo;h. 

She is the first steamboat that ever made the voyage to the 
mouth of the Mississippi and back. She made the trip from 
from New Orleans to this port in fifty-four days, twenty days 
of which were employed in loading and unloading freight at 
the different towns on the Ohio and Mississippi. So she was 
only thirty-four days in actual service in making her voyage, 
which our readers will remember must be performed against 
powerful currents, and is upwards of 2,200 miles in length." 
Niles' Register, Vol. 8. 

" Last Saturday evening steam was first tried on the steam- 
boat ' Dispatch,' another steamboat lately built at Bridge{)ort, 
and owned, as well as the Enterprise, by the Monongahela and 
Ohio Steamboat Company. We are ha{)py to learn she is 
likely to answer the most sanguine expectations of the inge- 
nious, Mr. French, the engineer, on whose plan she is con- 
structed." 

It is expected when her works are in complete operation, 
she will pass through the water at the rate of nine miles an 
hour. — Niles' Register, Vol. 8. 

Whatever may be said of the wonderful achievements ob- 
tained by steam at that early date, judging from the above and 
other records made at that time, no practical man at the 
present period will fail to notice that there has been quite as 
much improvement in the facilities for handling freight or in 



IMPROVEMENT IN HANDLING FREIGHT. 95 

the time consumed in handling it on a trip, as there has been 
in the speed of steamboats. 

The idea of spending twenty days in taking in and putting 
out freight on a trip from New Orleans to Pittsburgh, and that 
with a boat of but 400 tons capacity, will hardly do justice 
to the well known reputation of Capt. H. M. Shreve, although 
he probably done more than any other individual in improving 
and developing the steaniboat interests of the South and West. 



CHAPTER XXir. 

OHIO FALLS PILOT. 

IN 1792, the office of Foils Pilot was created by law in con- 
sonance with the following preamble to the act, " Whereas 
ojreat inconveniences have been experienced and many boats 
lost in attempting to pass the rapids of the Ohio, for the want 
of a pilot, and from persons offering their services to strangers 
to act as pilots, by no means qualitied for this business. 

The office was a{)pointed at Louisville, Kentucky, by the 
Jefferson County Court, and the rate of pilotage fixed by the 
4ict, was two dollars for each boat, while all other persons 
were forbidden to attempt to perform this service under a 
penalty of ten dollars. 

In McMuylvie''s kS ketches of Louisville, published in 1819, 
an interestino; and valuable account is oriven of the introduc- 
tion of steam navigation and its effect upon commerce and 
the settlement of the Mississippi Valley. 

In chapter 8, page 193, on the subject of navigation and 
commerce, he says: — 

" Tlie increase of the navigation and commerce of Louis- 
ville and Shippingport since the year of 1806, is, perhaps, un- 
paralleled in the history of nations. At that time six keel- 
boats and two barges — the one of thirty tons, belonging to 
Reed, of Cincinnati; the other of forty, belonging to Instom, 
■of Frankfort, sufficed for the carrying trade of the two places. 
Whereas, at the present moment there are, exclusive of barges, 
keel-boats, etc., \i\)\\'Jivds oi twe)dy-five steamboats employed 
in that business, whose united burthen is equal to six thou- 
sand and fifty tons. 

This is a iiattering and unequivocal proof of their prosper- 
ity, and gives us a glimpse of what they will be fifty years 



96 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



hence. The application of steam for purposes of navigation 
constitutes a brilhaut and important era in the annals of our 
country, and although Fulton was not the original inventor 
(for it had been repeatedly essayed before his time in En- 
gland, France, and in this country, but without success), yet 
is his merit not the less on that account, as it requires more 
courage to persevere in effecting an object, which, from the 
constant failure of others seems to be impracticable, than to 
try a new experiment. 

Why has he not a statue? 

Next to Fulton, the country owes a vast debt of gratitude 
to Capt. H. M. Slireve, of Portland. It is to his exertions, 
his example, and let me add, to his integrity and patriotic 




STEAMER WASHINGTON. 



purity of principle, that we are indebted for the present flour- 
ishing state of navigation. 

Having been long convinced that the overpowering patent 
of Fulton and Livingston, which granted them the exclusive 
privilege of navigating by steamboats all the rivers of the 
United States for fourteen years, no matter in what manner 
the steam operated, was illegal, and consequently of no effect, 
he determined to bring the point to issue. Accordingly on the 
first of December in 1814, he embarked on the Enterprise for 
New Orleans, where he arrived on the 14th of the same month. 

Immediately on landing he applied to counsel and procured 



CAPTAIN SHREVE DECLINES TO C03IPR0MISE. 97 

bail, in case of seizure, which took phice the next day. Bail 
was entered and a suit commenced against the vessel and 
owners in an inferior court, where a verdict was found for the 
defendants. The case was now removed by a writ of error 
to the Supreme Court of the United States, at which time the 
Enterprise left New Orleans and arrived at Shippingport. 
Before the question was decided by this tribunal, Capt. 
Shreve, returned to New Orleans with the Washington, a 
beautiful boat of 400 tons, which, as was expected, was also 
seized by the company to wdiom she was abandoned without 
any difficulty. Upon application, however, to the court, an 
order was olDtained to hold the company to bail, to answer to 
the damages that might be sustained by the detention of the 
vessel. 

To this it demurred, and began to feel the weakness of its 
case, and foreseeing the downfall of its colossal patent, it re- 
peatedly offered through its counsel and individual members 
of the company to admit Capt. Shreve to an equal share with 
itself in all the privileges of the patent-right, providing he 
should instruct his counsel so to arrange the business that a 
verdict might be found against him. In vain this tempting 
bait, I had almost said bribe, was proffered. 

It was rejected with scorn and indignation, and the affair 
left to justice, whose sword, with one blow, forever severed 
the lini<s of that chain which had enthralled the commerce of 
Western waters. 

Had Captain Shreve been weak enough to have accepted of 
this offer the result is obvious. No one would have dared to 
embaik his fortune in vain endeavors to promote the best 
interests of his country by adding the wings of commerce to 
the feet of agriculture, because ruin would have been the in- 
evitable consequence. The carrying business would have 
remained in the hands of the company, who would have con- 
tinued just so many and no more boats in the trade as was 
necessary to keep up the price of freight, and consequently 
instead of paying two and half cents per pound for every 
article imported, the merchant, and ultimately the consumer 
(for upon his shoulders such things always bear at last), would 
have been compelled to have paid six, seven or eight, as best 
suited the convenience of the company. 

Among the many advantages steamboats are to the com- 
munity, is the extraordinary demand they create for provisions 
and fuel. With respect to fuel, that wood which heretofore 
cost the owners large sums of money to destroy will now 
bring from two and half to three dollars per cord, delivered 



98 Gould's history of river navigation. 

anywhere on the banks of the river. As to provisions, any- 
where in the vicinity of Louisville, the demand can hardly be 
supplied in consequence of the increasing population of the 
town. 

Each steamboat employed in the trade of this place is ob- 
liged to disburse $600 per trip, at least three times in a year, 
or $1,800, which multiplied by the number of boats, gives us 
$45,000, a sum annually expended among owners of land at 
this place and along the river below. 

But these are not only the advantages derived to the West- 
ern country by the introduction of steamboats. Their pro- 
duction has created good turnpike roads across the mountains 
as well as canals, thus diminishing the price of freight from 
Eastern cities, whose inhabitants, fearing the entire loss of 
their trade with the Western country, have been stimulated 
to counteract these effects by the means just mentioned." 



CHAPTER XXIir. 

THE NAVIGAT OE, an old and rare book printed m 
Pittsburgh in the early part of this century, records 
many interesting facts concerning the early navigators. 

From this source we learn something of the expense and 
profits of the "New Orleans" when running as a packet between 
Natchez and New Orleans. 

This old chronicle saj's "her accomodations are good, and 
her passengers numerous, generally not less than from ten to 
twenty from Natchez at $18.00 each, and whenshe starts from 
New Orleans, generally from thirty to fifty and sometimes as 
many as eighty, at $25.00 each to Natchez. 

According to the observation of Capt. Morris, of New Or- 
leans, who attended her as a pilot several trips, the boat's re- 
ceipts for freight upwards, have averaged the last year $700, 
the passenger receipts $900. Downward $300 for freight, 
$500 fot passengers. 

She performs thirteen trips in the year, which at $2,400 per 
trip amounts; to $81,200. Her expenses are, 12 hands, at 
120 per month, $4,320; captain, $1,000; seventy cords of 
wood each trip, at $1.75, which amounts to $1,586, in all 
$6,906. It is presumed that the boat's extra trip for 



EARNINGS OF THE NEW ORLEANS. 99 

"jTleasure or otherwise, out of her usual trade, have paid for all 
her repairs, and with the bar-room, for the boat's provisions, 
in which case there will remain a net gain of $24,294 for the 
first year. 

The owners estimate the boat's value at $40,000, which 
gives an interest of $2,400, and by giving $1 ,894 moreforfurni- 
ture, etc., we have the clear gain of $20,000 for the tirst year's 
labor for the steamboat " New Orleans. " She goes up in 
seven or eight days, and descends in two or three, stopping 
several times for freight and passengers. She stays at the ex- 
treme of her journey, Natchez and New Orleans, about four 
or five days to discharge or to take in loading. " 

" The tirst sea vessel on the Western waters was a brig built 
at Marietta, Ohio, called the " St. Clair, " 120 tons burden. 
She was built by Commodore Preble in 1798 or '99, who went 
down the river on her to New Orleans, from thence to Havana, 
and to Philadelphia, and at the latter port he sold her. 

J'rom 1799 to 1805, there was built at Pittsburgh four 
ships, three brigs, and several schooners, but misfortunes 
happening to most of them in going down the rivers to the 
gulf, ship-building on the Ohio went into a decline until re- 
vived some years after in the shape of steamboat architecture. 

One of these took out papers for Leghorn, Italy, and in 
illustrating the commercial habits and enterprise of the Ameri- 
can people, Henry Clav, in a speech in Congress, related the 
following anecdote about her. 

" When the vessel arrived at Leghorn, the captain presented 
his papers to the custom officer there, but he would not credit 
them, and said to the master. ' sir, your papers are forged, 
thrre is no such place as Pittsburgh in the world, your vessel 
must be confiscated. ' 

Th3 trembling captain asked if he had a map of the United 
States, which he fortunately happened to have, and produced. 
The captain, taking the officer's finger, put it down at the 
mouth of the Mississippi, then led it a 1,000 miles up the 
river, thence another 1,000 to Pittsburgh, and said, 'there, 
sir, is the port whence my vessel cleared from. ' 

The astonished officer, who before he saw the map would 
have as soon believed the vessel had been navigated from the 
moon, exclaimed, ' I knew America could show many wonder- 
ful things, but a fresh water sea port is something I never 
dreamed of . ' " 

"The 'New Orleans' was the first steamboat ever con- 
structed on the western waters. She was 116 feet long, 20 
feet beam. Her cylinder was 34 inches diameter, with boiler 



100 Gould's history of river navigation. 

and other parts in proportion. She was about 400 ton* 
burthen and cost in the neighborhood of ($38,000) tliirty- 
eight thousand dollars. There were two cabins, one aft for 
ladies, and a larger one forward for gentlemen. The ladies' 
cabin, which was comfortably furnished, contained four berths. 
The ' New Orleans ' was launched in March, 1811, She left 
Pittsburg October of the same year — passed Cincinnati Oct. 
27th, and reached Louisville the next day in (3-4 hours' run- 
ning time from Pittsburgh. 

The water was too low for her to cross the falls, and while 
waiting at Louisville for sufficient water, she made several 
short excursions. She also made one trip to Cincinnati, 
arriving there in 45 hours' running time from Louisville, 
Nov. 27th, 1811. While here she made one excursion trip 
to Columbia, charging one dollar per head. Shortly after 
this, the river rising, she left this place for New Orleans, 
December, 1811. 

Her voyage down the river was perilous in the extreme, as 
shortly after leaving Louisville the great earthquakes began. 
[See full account in another chapter.] She ran between 
Natchez and New Orleans, her trips averaging about three 
weeks. July 13, 1814, she landed on her upward trip two 
miles below Baton Kouge, on the opposite side, and spent the 
night in taking on wood, the night being too dark to run with 
safety. At daylight the next morning she got up steam, and 
on starting the engine, it was found she would not move 
ahead, but kept swinging around. The water had fallen during 
the night and the captain found she was resting on a stump. 
An anchor was put out on her starboard quarter, and by the 
aid of her capstan she was soon hove off. But on clearing, it 
was soon discovered she had sprung a leak, and was sinking 
rapidly. She was immediately run into the bank and tied 
fast, but sunk so rapidly her passengers barely had time ta 
get ashore with baggage." 



FIRST SIXTY STEAMBOATS. 101 

CHAPTER XXIY. 

FROM SHARPS' HISTORY OF ST. LOUIS. 

«' The early history of steamboats following the New 
Orleans will be found interesting, as showing how quickly the 
innovation was felt, and how speedily the new system oblit- 
erated the old." 

The second boat was the " Comet," of 25 tons, owned by 
Saml. Smith, built at Pittsl)urg by Daniel French, stern 
wheel and vibrating cylinders. French patent granted in 
1809. 

The " Comet " made a voyage to Louisville in 1813, and 
to New Orleans in the spring, 1814. Made two trips to 
Natchez and was sold and her engine put into a plantation and 
ased to drive a cotton-gin. Third boat, the Vesuvius, 340 
tons, built at Pittsburgh, by Robert Fulton and owned by a 
•company belonging to New York and New Orleans. Left 
Pittsburgh in the spring of 1814, commanded by Capt. 
Frank Ogden. She started from New Orleans, bound for 
Louisville, first of June, 1814 and grounded on a bar 700 
miles up the Mississippi, where she lay until December, when 
the river rose and floated her off. She returned to New 
Orleans, where she grounded a second time on the bature, 
where she lay until the first of March, when the river rose and 
floated her off. She was then employed several months be- 
tween New Orleans and Natchez, under the command of Capt. 
Clemment, who was succeeded by Capt. John De Hart. 
Shortly afterwards she took fire near New Orleans and burned 
to the water's edgre, havinof a valuable caro-o on board. 

The fire was supposed to have been communicated from the 
boiler, which was in the hold. The bottom was raised and 
built upon at New Orleans and she went into the Louisville 
trade, but was soon after sold to a company in Natchez. 

On examination subsequent to the sale she was pronounced 
unfit for use, was libeled by her commander and sold at 
public auction. 

Fourth boat, the Enterprise, forty-five tons. Built at 
Brownsville, Penn., by Daniel French, under his patent, and 
owned by a company at that place. Made two trips to Louis- 
ville in the summer of 1814, under command of Capt. J. 
■Gregg. On the first of December, she took a load of ordi- 
nance stores at Pittsburgh, and left for New Orleans under 
command of Capt. Henry M. Shreve, and arrived at New 
Orleans on the I4th same month. She was then dispatched 



102 GOULD'S HISTORY OF HIVER NAVIGATIOX. 

up the river in search of two keel-boats, laden with small 
arms, which had been delayed on the river. She sot twelve 
miles above Natchez, where she met the keels, took their 
cargoes and masters on board and returned to New Orleans, 
having been but six and a half days absent, in which she ran 
624 miles. 

She was there for some time employed entirely io trans- 
porting troops. She made one trip to the Gulf of Mexico a3 
a cartel, and one trip to the rapids of the Red River, with 
troops, and nine vo}'ages to Natchez. She left New OrU'ans 
for Pittsburgh on the (>th of May, and arrived at Shii))Mng- 
port on the oOth, twenty-tive days out, being the first steam- 
boat that ever arrived at that port from New Orleans. 

She then proceeded on to Pittsburgh and the command was 
given to D. Worley, who lost her in Rock harbor, at Shi[)i)ing- 
port. 

Fifl/i boat, the " ^Etna," 340 tons, built at Pittsburgh and 
owned by the same company as the Vesuvius, left Pitts- 
burgh for New Orleans ]March, 1815, undercharge of Capt. A. 
Gale, and arrived at that port in April following; was placed 
in the Natchez trade. Was then placed under the command of 
Capt. Robinson De Hart, who made six tri})S on her to Louis- 
ville. 

The S2xt/i boat was the"Zebulon M. Pike," built by Mr. 
Prentice, of Henderson, Kentucky, on the Ohio River in 1S15. 
The Pike deserves especial mention, as she was the tirst boat 
to ascend the Mississippi River above the mouth of the Ohio, 
and the first to touch at St. Louis. 

Her first trip was made in the spring of 1815 to Louisville, 
Ky., two hundred and fifty miles in sixty-seven hours, making 
3| miles per hour against the current. On her voyage to St. 
Louis she was commanded by Capt. -Jacob Read. 

The hull, says Professor Waterhouse, was built on the 
model of a barge. (That is presumed to mean that she was 
built on a barge.) The cabin was built on the lower deck in- 
side of the " running boards." 

1'he boat was driven by what was called a low pressure en- 
gine, with a walking beam. The wheels had no wheel houses 
and she had but one smoke stack. 

In rapid current the crew reinforced steam with the impulse 
of their own strength. They used the poles and running boards 
just as in the }>ush boat, navigation of barges. The boat only 
ran in daylight, and was six weeks in making the tri]) from 
Louisville to St. Louis. It landed at the foot of Market street 
Auiiust 2nd, 1817. 



AIM'.IVAL OF THE PIKE. 103 

The inhabitants of the vilhiije irathcred on the bank to wel- 
come the novel visitor. Among them was a group of Indians. 
As the boat approached, the glare from the furnace, and the 
volunae of murky smoke filled the Indians with dismay. 
They Hed to the high ground in the rear of the village, and no 
assurances of safety could induce tliem to go nearer the <>hject 
of their fears. They ascribed supernatural to a boat that 
could ascend a rapid stieam without the aid of sail or oar. 
'i'heir super.stitious imaginations beheld a monster breathing 
flame and threatening the extinction of the red man. In a 
symbolic sense their fancy was prophetic, the progress and 
civilization of wiiich the steaniboat may be taken as a type, \n 
fast sweeping the Indian race into the grave of buried nations. 

The first notice we have of the expected arrival of the 
" Pike " at St. Louis is the following announcement in the 
Missouri Gazelle of 14th of July, 1817: — 

"A steamboat is expected here to-morrow from Louisville. 
There is no doubt but what we shall have regular communica- 
tion, or at least with the mouth of the Ohio by a steam 
packet." 

On the 2d of August the Gazette published this notice: — 

The steamboat Pike will be ready to take in freight to- 
morrow for Louisville, or any town of the Ohio. She will 
sail for Louisville on Monday morning, the 4th of August, 
from 10 to 12 o'clock. For freight or passage apply to the 
master on board. 

Jacob Rkad, Master. 

The return trip of the Pike is also mentioned in the Gazette 
of September 2d as follows : The steamboat Pike will arrive in 
a day or two from Louisville. This vessel will ply regularly 
between that place and this, and will take in her return cargo 
shortly after her arrival. 

Persons who may have freight, or want passage for Louis- 
ville, or any of the towns on the Ohio, will do well to make 
early application to the master on board. On her passage 
from this to Louisville, she will stop at Herculaneum where 
Mr. M. Austin will act as agent. Also at Ste. Genevieve and 
Cape Girardeau, at the former place Mr. Le Macellieu, and 
at the latter Mr. St«Mnbeck will act as ajrents, with whom freiirht 
may be deposited and shipped. Persons waiting passage on 
this vessel may apply as above. She will perform her present 
passage to and from Louisville in about four weeks and will 
always afford a safe and expeditious passage for the trans- 
portation of freight^nd passengers." 

Jacob Read, Master. 



104 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Again on the 22cl of November, the Gazette announced that 
the steamboat " Pike," with passengers and freight, arrived 
here from Louisville. 

The Pike had capacit}' for thirty-seven tons old govern- 
ment tonnage. She made a trip to New Orleans and several 
between Louisville aiid Pittsburgh, after which she was 
eno-aged in the Red River trade and snagoed in March, 1818.- 

The seventh boat on the Mississippi was the " Dispatch," 
twenty-five tons. She was built at Brownsville, Pa., by the 
same company that owned the Enterprise and under French's 
patent. She made several trips from Pittsburgh to Louisville, 
a,nd one to New Orleans and back to Shippingport, where she 
was wrecked and her engine taken out. She was commanded 
bv Captain J. Gregg. 

The eig//fh boat was the " Buffalo," 300 tons, built at Pitts- 
b ngh by Benjamin H. Latrobe, Sr., the distinguished archi- 
t ".t-oh iie Capitol at Washington. She was afterwards Sold 
I- ei, J's sale, at Louisville, for $800. 

,i >j find in the American Weekly Messenger, published in 
ladelphia, July 2d, 1814, the following letter which relates 
to the circumstances of the launch of the steamboat " Buf- 
falo:"— 

Pittsburgh, June 3, 1814. 

We omitted to mention that the steamboat " Buffalo " was 
safeiy launched on the 13th from the yard of Mr. Latrobe. 

This boat, which was intended to complete the line of steam- 
boats from New Orleans to Pittsburgh, is a fine and uncom- 
monly well built vessel, of two hundred and eighty-five tons 
burden, car[)enter's measurement, and is intended to trade reg- 
ularly between Louisville and Pittsburgh, once a month, as 
long as the water will admit. She has two cabins and four 
state-rooms for private families and will conveniently accom- 
modate 100 passengers with beds. 

Should it be found that her draught of water, which will be 
about thirty inches, when her machinery is on board, is too 
great for the summer mouths, it is intended immediately to 
put on the stocks another boat, or boats of smaller draught 
and less bulky construction. It is expected the "Buffalo" 
will be finished in time to bring up the cargo of the "Ve- 
suvius " from New Orleans. 

A succeeding number of the Weekhj American MagazinCt 
contains the following items from St. Louis: — 

St. Louis (I. T.), July 2d, 1814. 

" On Sunday last an armed boat arrived from Prairie da 
Chien, under command of Capt. John Sulivan, with his com- 



GUNBOAT AT ST LOUIS IN 1814. 105 

pany of militia and thirty-two nieu from the gunboat 
'Governor Chirk,' their terms of service (sixty days), 
having expired, Capt. Zeizer, who commands on board the 
' Governor Chirk, ' off Prairie du Chien, reports that his 
vessel is completely manned, that the fort is finished, chris- 
tened ' Fort Shelb}',' and occupisd jy the regulars, and that 
all are anxious for a visit from Dickson and his red troops. 

The Indians are hovering around the village, stealing horses, 
and have been successful in obtaining a prisoner, a French- 
man, who had gone out to look for his horses. 

Ninth boat, the " JamesMouroe," one hundred and twenty 
tons, built at Pittsburgh, by Mr. Latrobe, and owned by a 
company at Bayou Sara, and run in the Natchez trade. 

Tenth boat, the " Washington, " 400 tons, a two deck«r, 
built at Wheeling, constructed and partly owned by C ot. 
Henry M. Shreve. The engine of the Washington was :'t 
at Brownsville, Pa., under the immediate direction !: ■ ^^'^ 
Shreve. Her boilers were on the upper deck, being ^^? 
boat on that plan, a valuable improvement by Capt. Shr 
which is still in general use. 

The Washington crossed the falls of the Ohio in September, 
1816, under the command of Capt. Shreve, bound for New Or- 
leans, and returned to Louisville during the following winter. 

In the month of March, 1817, she left shippingport a second 
time and proceeded to New Orleans and returned to Shipping- 
poit, being absent only forty-five days. 

This was the trip that convinced the despairing public that 
steamboat navigation would succeed on Western waters. 

Eleventh boat, the "Franklin," 125 tons. Built at Pitts- 
burgh by Messrs Shiras & Cromwell, engine b}'' George 
Evens; left Pittsburgh in December, 1816, was sold in New 
Orleans and was subsequently employed in the Louisville and 
St. Louis trade. 

She was sunk in the Mississippi, near St. Genevieve, in 
1819, on her way to St. Louis, commanded by Capt. Revels. 

Twelfth boat, the "Oliver Evans " ( afterwards the Con- 
stitution), built at Pittsburgh by George Evans. The engines 
of his patent. She was but seventy tons burden. She left 
Pittsburgh for New Orleans December, 1816. She burst one 
of her boilers in 1817, off Point Coupee, by which eleven men 
lost their lives, principally passengers. Owned by George 
Sultan and others of Pittsburgh. 

Thirteenth boat, the "Harriot," forty tons. Built at 
Pittsburgh, constructed and owned by Mr. Armstrong, of 
Williamsport, Pa. She left Pittsburgh October, 1816, and 



106 GOULD S IllSTOUY OF KIVER NAVKJATION. 

crossed tho falls in March, 1871, made one trip to New Orleans 
and subsequently ran between that place and Mussel Shoals, 
Tennessee river. 

Fouvteentli boat, the " Kentucky," eijrhty tons. Built at 
Frankfort, Ky. Owned by Hanson & Beswell. Was engaged 
in the Louisville trade. 

Flftccndi boat, the " Governor Shelby," ninety tons. 
BuiU at Louisville. Engines by Bolton & El)olt, of England. 
In I.SU) she was running very successfully in the Louisville 
trade. 

Sixteenth boat, the " New Orleans, " 300 tons. Built at 
Pittsburgh by Fulton & Livingston in 1817, for the Natchez 
trade. Sunk near Baton Rouge, but was raised, and sunk 
again near New Orleans in February, 1819, about two months 
after her tirst sinking. 

Seventeenth boat, the " Vesta, " 100 tons. Built at Cin- 
cinnati in 1817, and owned by Messrs Bosson, Cowdin & Co. 
She plied regularly between Cincinnati and Louisville. 

Eighteenth boat, the" George Madison, " 200 tons. Built 
at Pittsburgh in 1818, by Messrs Voories, Mitchel, Rodgers & 
Todd, of Frankfort, Ky. Was engaged in the Louisville 
trade in 1811). 

■ Nineteenth boat, the "' Ohio" 443 tons. Built in New Albany, 
Ind., in 1818, by Messrs. Shreve & Blair, in the Louisville 
trade. 

Ticentietli boat, the "Napoleon," 322 tons. Built in 
Shippingport, 1818, by Messrs. Shreve, Miller c^ Brecken- 
ridge, of Louisville. Engaged in the Louisville trade. 

Ticent //-first boot, the *"' Volcano," 250 tons. Built at 
New Albany by Messr>. John iSc Robinson de Hart in 1818. 
Fhe was purchased in 1819 by a company at Natchez, and 
run from that port to New Orleans. 

Twenti/second boat, the "General Jackson," 150 tons. 
Built at Pittsburgh in 1818, and owned by R. Whiting of that 
place, and General Carroll, of Tennessee ; in the Northern 
trade. 

Tirenty-third boat, the "Eagle," 70 tons. Built in Cincin- 
nati in 181S, and owned by James Berthoud & Son, of Ship- 
ping-port, Kentucky, in the Natchez trade. 

Twentij-fouvtli boat, \\\e " Hecla, " 70 tons. Built at Cin- 
cinnati in 1818. and o\yned by Messrs. Honorus & Barbaror, 
of Louisville, Kentucky: in the Louisville trade. 

Ttrtntii-Jifth boat, " Flenderson, " 85 tons. Built at Cin- 
cinnati in 1818. and owned by Messrs. Bowers, of Henderson,. 
Kentucky, and lun in the Louisvillo and Henderson traile. 



fliiar PASSENGER BOAT. 107 

Twenty-sixth boat, the "Johnston," 80 tons. Built at 
Wheeling, Va., in 1818, and in 1819 engaged in the Yellow- 
stone expedition. 

Twe)iti/-seventh boat, the "Cincinnati," 120 tons. Built- 
at Cincinnati in 1818, and owned by Messrs. Paxton & Co., of 
New Albany, Indiana, in the Louisville trade. 

Twenfy-dglitk boat, the "Exchange," 200 tons. Built at 
Louisville in 1818, and owned by David S. Wood, of Jeffer- 
son County, Kentucky, in the Louisville trade. 

Tioenty-nintli boat, the "Louisiana," 45 tons. Built at 
New Orleans in 1818, and owned l)y Mr. Duplesa, of New 
Orleans, in the Natchez trade. 

TA{/-<?"e//^ ?>o^'^ the " James Ross, " 330 tons. Built in 1818 
at Pittsburgh, and owned by Messrs. Whiting & Stackpole, 
of that place, and engaged in the Louisville trade. 

Thirty-firHt boat, the "Frankfort," 320 tons. Built at 
Pittsburgh in 1818, and owned by Messrs. Vorrhies & Mit- 
chil, of Frankfort, Kentucky, in the Louisville trade. 

Thirty-second boat, the " Taraolane, " 320 tons. Built at 
Pittsburgh in 1818, and owned by Bogart & Co., of New 
Yoi'k, engaged in the Louisville trade. 

Thirty-third boat, the " Perseverance, " 40 tons. Built at 
Cincinniiti in 1818, and owned at that place. 

Thirty-fourth boat, the " St. Louis, " 220 tons. Built at 
Ship])ingport, Kentucky, in 1818, and owned by Messrs. 
Herres, Douglass, Johnston and others; in the Louisville 
trade. 

Thirty-fifth boat, the " General Pike," built at Cincinnati 
in 1818, intended to ply between Louisville, Cincinnati and 
Maysville as passenger packet, and owned by a company in 
Cincinnati. 

She was the first steamboat built on "Western waters for the 
exclusive conveyance of passengers. Her accomodations were 
ami)le. Her apartments spacious and convenient. She 
measured 100 feet keel, 25 feet beam, and drew only 39 inches 
of water. Her cabin was forty feet in length, and in breadth 
25 feet. At one end was six state rooms, at the other end 
eiirht. Between the two state rooms was a saloon forty by 
eighteen feet, sufficiently large to accomodate 100 passengers. 

The "Pike" was built as an opposition boat to the " Vesta, '* 
which was built in 1817. 

The rivalry of these boats gave rise to a slang phrase, which 
held its place with the boys at that period, and outlived the 
career of both boats. There are old citizens of Cincinnati now 
living, if they will carry their memories back to the " twen- 



108 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATIOX. 

ties, " will remember the boys in the streets and through the 
commons crying, " go ahead; Vesta, the Pike is coming." 

Thirty-sixth Aoa/, the " Alabama, " 25 tons. Built on Lake 
Ponchartrain in 1818 for the Red River trade. 

TJdrty-Heventh boat, the "Calhoun," 80 tons. Built in 
1818, at Frankfort, Kentucky, and afterwards employed in 
the Yellow Stone expedition. 

Thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth boats, the " Expedition, " 
120 tons, and the "Independence," 50 tons, built at Pitts- 
burgh. Both of which were intended for the Yellow-stone 
expedition. 

The Independence was the first steamboat that undertook to 
stem the strong current of the Missouri. They both arrrived 
at Franklin ( Boons Lick ), Howard County, 200 miles up 
the river from its mouth, in the month of June, 1819. 

Fortieth boat, the " Maid of Orleans, " 100 tons. Built at 
Philadel})hia in 1818, and owned by a company in New Or- 
leans, and afterwards ( in 18U> ), engaged in the St. Louis 
trade. She was constructed both for river and sea 
navigation, the latter by sails, and the former by steam power. 
She arrived at New Orleans schooner rigged, ascended the 
^Mississippi by steam and was the first vessel that ever reached 
St. Louis from an Atlantic port. 

Forty-first boat, the " Ramapo " 60 tons, built in New 
York in 1818, and in 1819 was emploj^ed in the Natchez trade. 

Forty-second boat, the "M'-bile" 150 tons, built in Prov- 
idence, Rhode Island, in 1818, owned in Mobile, and in 1819 
was engagod in the New Orleans and Louisville trade. 

Forty-Uiird boat, the "Mississippi," 400 tons, built in 
New Orleans in 1818, arrived at Havana in February, 1819. 
She was intended to ply between Havana and Matanzas. 

Forty-fourth boat, the " Western Engineer, " built on the 
Monongahela river in 1818 - 19, descende^l the Ohio river about 
the first of May, 1819, and afterwards ascended the Missouri 
rjver in connection with the government exploring expedition. 
The object of this expedition was principally to make a cor- 
rect military survey of the river and to fix upon a site for the 
establishment of a military post at, or near the junction of 
the Yellow-stone and the Missouri, and to ascertain the point 
where the Rocky Mountains are intersected by the 49th de- 
gree of latitude, wdiich formed the western boundary between 
the possessions of Great Britain and the United States, and to 
inquire into the " trading capacity and genius of the various 
tribes through which it may pass." 

The olhcers employed on this duty were Major S. H. Long, 



EXPLORATION OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. 109 

of the United States Engineers, Major Thomas Biddle, of the 
United States Corps of Artillery and Messrs. Graham & Swift. 

The boat was completely equipped for defense and was 
manned by a few troops. 

The " ^\'estern Engineer" drew only thirty inches of wa- 
t^. She was well built and the bottom was fastened with 
copper and had a serpent's head on her bow through which 
the steam passed, presenting a novel appearance. 

This expedition was organized for the purpose of exploring 
the country on the Missouri river, and had a full complement 
of scientific officers of the government, among which were 
topographical engineers, mineralogists, botanists, geologists, 
ornithologists, landscape painters, etc. The " Western Engi- 
neer " was only 75 feet long, and 13 feet beam, and stern 
wheel. 

Forty-fifth boat, the "Rifleman " 2o0 tons. Built at Louis- 
ville in 1819, owned by Butler & Bamers, and ran in the 
Louisville trade, 

Forty-sixtli boat, the "Car of Commerce" 150 tons. Built 
at Pittsburgh in 1819, owned by W. F. Patterson & Co., of 
Louisville, and engaged in the trade of that place. 

Forty-seventh boat, the " Paragon," 37(>tons. Built at Cin- 
cinnati in 1819, by Wm. Parsons, and owned by Wm. Noble 
and Robert Neilson, engaged in the Louisville trade. 

Forty-eightli boat, the " Maysville, " 150 tons. Built in 
1819, and owned by citizens of Washington, Kentucky, and 
Maysville. 

Forty-ninth boat, the "Columbus," 460 tons. Built at 
New Orleans in 1819, and owned there. She was employed 
in the Loaisville trade. 

Fiftieth boat, the " General Clark, " 150 tons. Built and 
owned by a company in Louisville. 

Fifty-iirst boat, the " Vulcan, " 300 tons. Built at Cincin- 
nati, 1819, for the New Orleans trade ; owned by citizens of 
Cincinnati. 

Fifty-second &ort<, the" Missouri, " 175 tons. Built at New- 
port, Kentucky, 1819; owned by the Messrs. Yeatmans, 
and designed for the St. Louis trade. 

Fifty-third boat, the "New Comet," 100 tons. Altered 
from a barge, owned at Cincinnati and intended for the New 
Orleans trade. 

Fifty-fourth boat, the " Newport, " 50 tons. Built at that 
place and owned in New Orleans in 1819, and engaged in the 
Red River trade. 

Fifty-fifth boat, the "Tennessee," 400 tons. Built at 



110 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

Cincinnati in 1819; owned''.|)j*^a company in New Orleans and 
Nashville and employed in the Louisville trade. She was 
sunk in 1823, in the Mississippi River, by which sixty odd 
persons were lost, some of them people of distinction. 

This disaster caused great excitement throuo;h the country 
and deterred many from traveling on steamboats for a long 
time. 

Fifty-sixth boat, the " General Robinson," 250 tons. 
Built at Newport, Ky., in 1819, for a company in Nashville, 
and run in that trade. 

Fifty -seventh boat, the " United States," 700 tons. Built 
at Jeffersonville, Ind., for the Natchez trade in 1819, owned 
by Hart and others. She was the largest steamboat that had 
ever been built up to that time for Western waters. 

Fifty -eighth boat, the " Post Boy," 200 tons. Built at 
New Albany, Ind., in 1819, owned by H. M. Shreve and 
others, and run from Louisville to New Orleans. She was 
one of the packets employed by the post-o£Bce department to 
carry the mail between those places according to an Act of 
Congress, passed March 1819. By this Act the expense was 
not to exceed that of carrying it by land. 

Fifiy-niuth boat, the " Elizabeth," 150 tons. Built at Salt 
River, Ky., in 1819, owned by a company at Elizabeth, Ky., 
and engiiged in the New Oilcans trade. 

Sixtwth boat, the " Fayette," 150 tons. Built in 1819, 
owned by John Grey and others and engaged in the Louis- 
ville trade." 

From the numerous lists of boats published by as many 
historians, I have selected the foreo;oin<2: from " Sharf's His- 
tory of St. Louis," as being more extended and probably 
quite as correct as that of any other, although it lacks de- 
tail in specifications; but it is sufficiently so for all practical 
purposes, I presume, at this late period. 

A noticeable feature in this long list of pioneer steam- 
boats is the numerous points that were selected to build 
them and the great nural)er of persons that were ready to em- 
bark in the new enterprise. 

Hardly any owners named, appear as such in any two boats. 
Even Fulton and Livingston who built the first boat, the 
" New Orleans," subsided very soon after the courts refused 
to legalize the authority they claimed, under some State 
enactments for the exclusive right to navigate the Mississippi, 
for the term of twenty-five years. 

The same result occurred to them, in the claim they set up 
for the exclusive right to navigate with steam, the waters of 
the State of New York. 



CAFT. SHREVE AT BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. Ill 

CHAPTER XXy. 

CAPT. H. M. SHREVE seems to have been about the only 
one who figured in the different boats named, in the sixty 
heretofore mentioned. 

The >St. Louia Rppvhlican of March 7, 1851, thus notes the 
death of this eminent steamboatman: 

" This worthy citizen died at the residence of his son-in-law 
in this city yesterday. He was for nearly forty years closely 
identified with the commerce of the West, either in flat-boat or 
steamboat navigation. 

During the administration of Adams, Jackson and Van 
Buren, he filled the post of United States Superintendent of 
Western River Improvements and by the steam snag-boat, of 
which he was the inventor, contributed largely to the safety 
of Western commerce. To him belongs the honor of demon- 
strating the practicability of navigating the Mississippi with 
steam-boats. He commanded the first stearabont that ever 
ascended that river, and made several valuable improvements, 
both of the steam-engine and of the hull and cabins of West- 
ern steamboats. 

While the British were threatening New Orleans in 1814-15 
he was employed by Gen. Jackson in several hazardous enter- 
prises, and during the battle on the 8th of January, served 
one of the field-pieces which destroyed the advancing column 
of Gen. Keane. 

His name has become historically connected with Western 
river navigation, and will long be cherished by his numerous 
friends throughout this valley." 

Up to 1817 there seems to have been but few boats built. 
But little confidence was felt by the public in the practicability 
of navigating these rivers by the use of steam, until Capt. 
Shreve made the trip from New Orleans to Louisville with 
the " Washmgton" in twenty-five days, in 1817, and the round 
trip from Louisville to New Orleans and back in forty-five 
days. 

From that time forward there seemed no doubt of the result, 
and boats multiplied rapidly. Every town on the Ohio river, 
and some on the tributaries, were ready, and even anxious to 
establish a «' boat yard." Many succeeded, and built one or 
more boats and the supply was soon greater than the demand. 
The result was as might have been expected and only the 
*' fittest survived," and many of them were shortlived. Still, 



112 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

with few exceptions, there has never been a time when a con 
tract could not be marie at a reasonable price and for any 
chanicter of a steamboat and in a very short time. Neither 
has there ever been a time on Western waters, when sufBcient 
capital could not be obtained to build more boats than the 
commerce of the valley required. 

The supply has always exceeded the demand, and, of course, 
the natural result has followed with few exceptions. The ex- 
ceptions are about enough to establish the rule. 

Some boats and some trades have proved largely remunera- 
tive, at some period of their existence, and some boats have 
even been successful to the end of their career; but that has 
only stimulated their owners and others to duplicate them, 
and the result has generally been disastrous in the end. 

The same result has generally been realized by boat builders 
as by the owners, and very few of either class have ever re- 
tired from the business rich men. 

And where that lias been the case, investigation shows that 
the money made during prosperous periods has been with 
drawn from the business and invested in something else. 

The next vessel to arrive in St. Louis after the " Pike," 
was the " Constitution," Capt. Guzard, which arrived Oct. 
2, 1817. The steamboat ceased to be a novelty on the Mis- 
sissippi in 1818, and became a recognized agent of the com- 
merce of the valley. 

The arrival and departure of vessels about this time were 
noticed by the Gazette as follows : — 

" On Saturday last the steamboat ' Franklin,' of about 140 
tons burden, arrived here from New Orleans in thirty-two 
days, with passengers and assorted cargo. 

The ' Franklin ' is admirably calculated for a regular passen- 
ger packet to ply between St. Louis and New Orleans. Her 
stowage is capacious, and her passenger accommodations ele- 
gant." — Gazette, June 12, 1818. 

" The steamboat ' Franklin ' left this place yesterday with 
freight and passengers for New Orleans. The master expects 
to arrive there in about eight days. Our common barges take 
from twenty-five to thirty days to perform the voyage. — 
Gazette, June 19, 1818. 

" List of boats trading to New Orleans: 

"' Franklin,' 131 tons; 'Eagle,' ' Pike ' (sunk) ; * James 
Monroe' (sunk, now repairing)." — Gazette^ Sept. 5, 
1818. 

"The new steamboat 'Johnston,' of Kentucky, passed 
Shawneetown the first of this month bound for New Orleans. 



ARRIVAL OF MAID OF NEW ORLEANS IN 1819. 113 

She 1*3 iutended as a regular trader from Kentucky on the 
Mississippi, and the Missouri as high up as the Yellowstone 
vivev.'' — Gazette, xVov. 6, 1818. 

" The arrival about ]March 1st, 1819, of the large and ele- 
gant steamboat ' Washington,' from New Orleans, which 
city she left on the first of February, was announced in tbe 
^jfazette of March 3d. The steamboat ' Harriet' arrived from 
the same port early in April. 

" The ' Sea Horse," which arrived at New Orleans from 
New York, and the ' Maid of Orleans,' from Phihidelphia, 
early in 1819, were probably the first steamboats that ever 
performed a voyage of any length on the ocean. 

"The 'Maid of Orleans' continued her voyage to St. 
Louis, where she arrived about the 1st of May. On the same 
day the steamboat ' Independence,' Capt. Nelson, arrived from 
Louisville." 

The Missouri Gazette of 19th May, 1819, has the following 
steamboat memorandum : — 

" The Expedition, Capt. Craig, arrived here on Wednesday 
last, destined for the Yellowstone. 

The Maid of Orleans, Capt. Turner, sailed for New. Or- 
leans, and the Independence, Capt. Nelson, for Franklin, on 
the Missouri, on Sunday last. The Exchange, Capt. Whips, 
arrived here on Monday and will return to Louisville in a 
few days for a new set^f boilers, she having burst her 
boiler in ascending the Mississipi. 

The " St. Louis, " Capt. Hewes; the "James Monroe,'* 
and the "Hamlet," were advertised to sail for St. Louis 
from New Orleans about the middle of last month." 

"In 1817, less than two years ago, the first steamboat 
arrived at St. Louis. 

We hailed it as the day of small things, but the glorious con- 
summation of all our wishes is daily arriving. Already we have 
seen during the present season at our shores five steamboats, 
and several more expected. Who would, or could have 
dared conjecture, that in 1819, we would witness the arrival 
of a steamboat from Philadelphia or New York ? And yet, 
such is the fact." 

" The Mississippi has become familiar to this great Ameri- 
can invention, and another new arena is open." 

" A steamboat owned by individuals, has started from St. 
Louis for Franklin, two hundred miles up the Missouri, and 
two others are here, destined for the Yellowstone. The time 
is fast approaching when a journey to the Pacific will become 
as familiar, and indeed more so, than it was twenty years ago, 



114 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

to Kentucky or Ohio, * Illustrious Nation,' said a foreigner 
of distinction, speaking of the New York canal. " Illustrious 
nation, whose conceptions are only equaled by her achieve- 
ments." 

The " Independence " was the first steamboat that entered 
the Missouri River. Sailing from St. Louis, May, 1819, she 
reached Franklin, on the Missouri, after a voyage of thirteen 
days, of which four days were spent at different landings. 
Her voyage extended up the river to Old Chariton, from 
whence she returned to St. Louis." 

The following announcement shows the appreciation of the 
citizens on the Missouri for the advent of steam navigation. 
Franklin, Boonslick, May 10, 1819. 

ARRIVAL OF THE STEAMBOAT. 

*< With no ordinary sensation of pride and pleasure we an- 
nounce this morning the arrival at this place of the elegant 
steamboat, ' Independence,' Capt. Nelson, in seven sailing 
days, but thirteen from the time of her departure from St. 
Louis, with passengers and cargo of flour, whisky, sugar, 
nails, castings, etc., being the first steamboat that ever at- 
tempted to ascend the Missouri river. She was joyfully met 
by the inhabitants of Franklin, and saluted by the firing of 
cannon, which was returned by the Independence. The 
grand desideratum, the important fact, is now ascertained 
that steamboats can safely navigate the Missouri." 

" She was absent from St. Louis 21 days. This trip 
proves a proud event in the history of Missouri." 

The ]\Iissouri river has heretofore almost effectually re- 
sisted all attempts at navigation. She has imposed every 
obstacle she could to the tide of navigation which was rolling 
up her banks and dispossessing her dear red children. But her 
white children, although children by adoption, have become 
numerous, and are increasing so rapidly that she is at last 
obliged to jield them her favor." — Gazette , June 9th, 1819. 

In the same paper and the same date is the following an- 
nouncement: — 

" The United States Government having determined to ex- 
plore the Missouri river up to the Yellowstone, and for the 
purpose as elsewhere stated, Major H. S. Long had built at 
Pittsburg-h the steamboat '* Western Eng-ineer." To Col. 
Atkinson had been entrusted the command of this expedition, 
and starting from Plattsburgh, New York, in the latter part 
of 1818, he arrived at Pittsburgh in the spring of 1819. The 
Western Engineer was completed soon after, and arrived at 
St. Louis, June 8, 1819. On the 21st the expedition started 



YELLOWSTONE EXPEDITION. 115 

for the Missouri. It was accompanied by three other United 
States steamers and nine keel boats, bearing a detachment of 
government troops. 

The names of the steamboats and of their commanders 
-were "Thomas Jefferson," Capt. Offord; " R. M. John- 
ston," Capt. Coalfax, and the " Expedition," Capt. Craig. 

The little fleet entered the Missouri with martial music, 
display of flags and firing of cannon. In honor of the 
statesman who acquired the territory of Louisiana for the 
United States, the precedence was accorded to the " Thomas 
Jefferson." 

But some disarrangement of her machinery prevented this 
boat from taking the lead, and the " Expedition " secured the 
position of being the first steamer in the flotilla to enter the 
Missouri. 

The Jefferson was doomed to a worse mishap still, for 
not long after she ran upon a snag and sunk. 

" The steam escape of the Western Engineer was shaped 
like a great serpent, coiled on the bow of the boat in the 
attitude of springing, and the steam hissing from the fiery 
mouth (which was painted red), filled the Indians with terror. 
They thought the wrath of the great spirit had sent this 
monster for their chastisement." — (Professor Waterhouse.) 

The Gazelle of June 2d, 1819, contains the following: — 

" Arrived at this place on the first, the fast sailing and 
elegant steamboat " St. Louis," Capt. Hewes, 28 days from 
New Orleans. The captain has politely favored us with the 
following from his log book : — 

On the 5th of Ma}^ left New Orleans at 3 p. m. Passed 
steamer " Volcano " bound down; on the 10th passed steamer 
James Ross; at 11 p. m. passed steamboat " Rifleman " at 
anchor, with shaft broken. 

On 15th passed steamboat "Madison," 

Six days from the falls of the Ohio. 

Twentieth passed steamboat " Governor Shelby " bound for 
New Orleans; 22d ran on a sand bar, and was detained until 
next day. 

Twenty-sixth at the grand turn below Island No. 60 passed 
nine keel boats, with the sixth regiment. United States In- 
fantry, commanded by Col. Atkinson, destined for the 
Missouri. 

At quarter past 11 o'clock ran aground and lost anchor and 
part of cable. 

Twenty-second steamboat "Harriet" passed; while at 
anchor 28th, at 3 p. m., passed steamboat " Jefferson," with 



116 Gould's history of river navigation. 

United States troops, having broken her piston. At 4 p. m. 
repassed steamer "Harriet." 

THE FIRST "excursion" TRIP ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 

The same paper on 9th of June announced that " Capt. 
Hewes, of the " St. Louis," had gratified the citizens of St. 
Louis with a sail to the mouth of the Missouri, and that the 
company on board was large and genteel, and the entertain- 
ment very elegant. 

The return of the "Maid of Orleans," 28th July, and the 
departure of the " Yankee," early in December, for New Or- 
leans, complete the record of steamboating for 1819." 

The first steamboat that ascended the upper Mississippi was 
the " Virginia," which arrived at Fort Snelling in May, ]823. 

The Missouri and upper Mississippi had now been opened 
to regular navigation, and the steamboat trafiic of the great 
river and its tributaries developed rapidly. 

On the 22d of August, 1825, the RepubUcan announced that 
two steamboats, the " Brown" and the " Magnet," now lay- 
ing here for the purpose of repairing, and added : 

" We believe this is the first instance of steamboats remain- 
ing here during the season of low water." 

On April ll>th, 1822, the RepuUican remarks: — 

" During the past week our wharf has exhibited a greater 
show of business than we recollect ever before to have seen, 
and the number of steam and other boats arriving and depart- 
ing has been unprecedented. The immense trade, which has 
opened between this place and Fever River at the present time, 
employs, besides a number of keel boats, six steamboats, to wit: 
the " Indiana," "Shamrock," "Hamilton," "Muskingum," 
and " Mechanic." The Indiana and Shamrock on their 
return trip have been deeply freighted with lead, and several 
keel boats likewise have arrived with the same article. Judg- 
ing from the thousands of people who have gone to make 
their fortunes at the lead mines this spring, we should sup- 
pose that the quantity of lead produced this year Avould be 
tenfold greater than heretofore." 

Again, on the 12th of July, same year, the same paper re- 
marks : — 

" It must be gratifying to every citizen of St. Louis to 
witness the steady advancement of the town, the number of 
steamboats that have arrived and departed during the spring 
being cited as the best evidence of the increase of business." 



COST OF BUILDING AND RUNNING EARLY STEAMBOATS. 117 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE following quotations are from " Hall's West," pub- 
lished in l!S4>^ at Cincinnati, and are interesting as well as 
instructive, which fully justifies their insertion in these com- 
pilations : "The General ]-*ike, built at Cincinnatti,in 1^18, 
and intened to ply as a packet between Maysville, Cincinuatti 
and Louisville, is said to have been the first steamboat con- 
structed on the Western waters for the exclsive convenience 
of passengers. Her accommodations were ami)le, her apart- 
ments s{)a(.'ious and superbl}' furnished, and her machinery of 
superior mechanism. She measured one hundred feet keel, 
twenty feet beam, and drew only three feet three inches water. 

The length of her cabin was forty feet, the breadth twenty 
five feet, in addition to which were fourteen state rooms. The 
boats i)reviousl3' built had been intended solely for the trans- 
portation of merchandise: these objects have subsequently 
been successfully united. 

The Calhoun, eighty tons, built at Frankfort in 1818, the 
Exi)edition, one hundred and twenty tons— the two last built 
at Pittsburgh — were constructed for the exploration of the 
Missouri river, in what was popularly termed the Yellow 
Stone Expedition, projected by Mr. Calhoun, while Secretary 
■of War, 'J'he Independence was the first steamboat that 
ascended the powerful current of the Missouri. 

The Post Boy, two hundred tons, built at New Albany, by 
Captain Shreve and others, in 18H*, was intended for the 
conveyance of the mail between Louisville and New Orleans, 
under an act of ('ongress, passed in March, 1819. This was 
the first attempt on the Western w'aters to carry the mail on 
steamboats. 

Tlie Western Engineer was built near Pittsburgh, in 
1818, under the direction of Major S. H. Long, of the United 
States topographical engineers, for the expedition of discov- 
ery to the sources of the Missouri, and the Rocky Mountains, 
which was afterwards so honorably accomplished by himself 
and his companions. This boat ascended as high as the 
Council Bluffs, about six hundred and fifty miles above St. 
Louis, and was the first steamboat that reached that point. 

The following remarks are from the pen of Morgan Neville^ 
Esq., and were written in 1829. 

" The average cost of a steamboat is estimated at $100 per 
con ; the repairs made during the existence of a boat amount 



118 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

to one half the first cost. The average duration of a boat 
has hitherto been about four years ; of those built of locust, 
lately, the period will probably be two years longer. The 
amount of expenditure in this branch of business on the Western 
waters, then, for the last ten years, will in some measure be 
shown by the following calculation : 

66,000 tons, costing $100 per ton, amount to ^S.f^OO.OOO 

Repairs on the same 2,800,000- 

Expending in building and repairing in ten years $8,400,000' 

The annual expenditure of steamboats is very difficult to 
be arrived at; the importance of this expenditure, how- 
ever, to the towns on our rivers, and to the whole extent of 
counti\y running along their shores, may be estimated from 
the following calculation of the item of fuel alone, for one 
year — take the present year, 1829. We have now in opera- 
tion about two hundred boats, the tonnage of which may be 
stated at thirty-five thousand tons. 

It is calculated that the business of each year lasts eight 
mouths; deduct one-fourth for the time lost in port, and we 
have six months, or one hundred and eighty days, of running, 
time. Each boat is presumed to consume one cord of wood, 
for every twelve tons, every twenty-four hours. 

The 35,000 tons then consume, per- day 2,917 cords 

Or, during the . six months 525,060 cords 

" The price of wood varies from $1.50 to $5 per cord ; a 
fair average would place it at $2.25 per cord. This makes 
the expenditure for fuel alone, on the banks of our rivers, 
$1,181,385 for this year. The other expenditures, while run- 
ning are calculated, by the most experienced and intelligent 
owners, to be equal to $1,300,000, which gives the total ex- 
penditure for 1829, at $2,488,385. 

" This calculation and estimate, then, which are both made 
lower than the facts justify, presents these results: 

The amount of first cost of steamboats, since 1817 §5,600,000 

Repairs on the same 2,800,000 

Total amount of expenditure, produced by the introduction of 
steamboats, for building and repairs $8,400,000 

We cannot better illustrate the mas'nitude of the chano-e in 
every thing connected with eastern commerce and navigation, 
than by contrasting the foregoing statement, wnth the situa- 
tion of things at the adoptation of steam transportation say in 
1817. About twenty barges, averaging one hundred tons 
each, comprised the whole of the commercial facilities foi 



AITANTAGE OF STEAM POWER. 119 

transporting merchandise from New Orleans to the '* Upper 
Country," eacli of these performed one trip down and up 
to Louisville and Cincinnati within the year. The num- 
ber of keelboats employed in the upper Ohio cannot be as- 
certained, but it is presumed that one hundred and fifty is a 
sufficiently large calculation to embrace the whole number. 
These averaged thirty tons each, and employed one month to 
make the voyage from Louisville to Pittsburgh, while the more 
dignified barge of the Mississippi made her trip in the space 
of one hundred days, if no extraordinary accident happened, 
to check her progress. Not a dollar was expended for wood, 
in a distance of two thousand miles, and the dweller on the 
banks of the Ohio thought himself lucky if the reckless boat- 
man would give the smallest trifle for the eggs and chickens 
which formed almost the only saleable articles on a soil whose 
only fault is its too great fertility. Such was the case twelve 
years sinre. The Mississippi boats now make five or six trips 
within the year, and areenabled, if necessary ,!within that period, 
to afford to that trade one hundred and thirty-five thousand tons. 
Eight or nine days are sufficient, on the upper Ohio, to .per- 
form the trip from Louisville to Pittsburgh and back. In 
short if steam has not realized the hyperbole of the poet in 
"annihilating time and space," it has produced results 
scarcely surpassed by the introduction of the art of printing." 

From another valuable article of the same gentleman, we 
copy the following very interesting remarks: — 

" On the first day of January, 1834, an official list of steam- 
boats, fronj an authentic source, gives the whole number of 
two hundred and thirty, then in existence, whose aggregate 
amount ot" tonnage is equal to about thirty-nine thousand 
tons. 

Allowing the cost of building at a rate much lower than the 
rule adopted three years since, the capital now invested in this 
stock will exceed $3,000,000. The expense of running may 
be put down nearly as contained in the following scale: — 

60 boats over 200 tons, 180 days at $140 per day $1,512,000 00 

70 boats from 120 tons to 200,240 running days, $90 per day.... 1,512,000 00 
100 boats under 120 tons, 280 running days, $60 per day 1,620,000 00 

Total yearly expenses $4,644,000 00 

*' This sum may be reduced to the different items producing 
it in the following proportions, viz. : — 

For wages 36 per cent, equal to $1,671,840 00 

For wood 30 percent, equal to 1,393,200 00 

For provisions, 18 per cent, equal to. 835,920 GO 

For contingencies 16 per cent, equal to 743,040 00 



120 GOULD'S HISTORY OF lUVER NAVIGATION. 

" This result is truly striking to those who were accustomed 
to the state of things on our rivers within twenty years. The 
difference in the amount of wages paid is in itself very consid^ 
erable; but the item of fuel is one created exclusively by 
steamboats; and when it is considered that nearly $1,500,000 
is expended every year, at a few points on the Mississippi val- 
ley, it presents a vast tield for specuhition. The immense 
forests of beech and other timber, untit for agricultural pur- 
poses, were, before, not only useless, but an obstacle to the 
i-ujTjred farmer, who had to remove them before he could sow 
and reap. The steamboat, with something like magical influ- 
ence, has converted them into objects of rapidly increasing 
value. He no longer looks with despondence on the dense- 
ness of trees, and only regrets that so many have already been 
given to the flames, or cast on the bosom of the stream before 
him. 

"At the present period, 1848, the steamboats may be con- 
sidered as plying as follows, viz. : — 

25 over 200 tons, between Louisville, New Orleans and Cincinnati, 

measuring • 8484 tons. 

7 between Nasliville and New Orleans, measuring 2,585 " 

4 between Florence and New Orleans • I,fil7 ♦• 

4 in the St. Louis trade 1,002 " 

7 in the cotton trade 2,016 '* 

57 boats not in established trades from 120 to 200 tons 8.fi41 " 

The balance under 120 tons in various trades 14, (55 '• 

39,000 tons. 

" Tn the New Orleans and LfOuisville trade, the boats over 
two hundred tons make about one hundred and fifty trips in 
prosperous seasons; those of smaller size make from fifty to 
sixty trips. But to go into an estimate of the number of voy- 
ages made by the boats in the different trades is impossible, 
because no regular dates are furnished, and the result depends 
upon a variety of contingencies." 

Previous to 1817, about twenty barges afforded the only 
taciiities for transporting merchandise from New Orleans to 
Louisville and Cincinnati. These, making but one trip in the 
year, gave the means of bringing up only two thousand tons. 
The present tonnage in this trade exclusively having been 
stated to be eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-four 
tons, gives the amount employed calculating one hundred and 
fifty trips in the season, to be fifty thousand nine hundred and 
four tons; a cause capable of producing a revolution in six- 
teen years hardly equalled in the annals of history. The ef- 
fects upon Western commerce have been immense. The moral 



STEAM BENEFICIAL, BUT UNPROFITABLE. 121 

-changes alone which are felt throughout the West on price are 
almost incalculable ; the imported article has fallen in a ratio 
equal to the increased price of Western products. In looking 
back at the old means of transportation, we cannot conceive 
how the present demand and consumption could have been 
8ui)plied by them. 

To those who havebeen acquainted with the earU'merchantile 
history of our country, when it was no uncommon thing for a 
party of merchants to be detained in Pittsburgh from six 
weeks to two months, by low water, or ice, the existing state 
of things is truly gratifying. The old price of carriage of 
goods, from the Atlantic seaboard to Pittsburgh, was Ions: esti- 
mated at from $5 to $8 per hundred pounds. We have an in- 
stance in the last five years, of merchandise being delivered 
at the wharf of Cincinnati for $1 per hundred pounds, fix)m 
Philadelphia, by way of New Orleans. 

It may not be useless, or uninteresting to give an idea of the 
mortality among the steamboats in a given time. It is not 
pretended that any decided inference can be drawn from this 
-statement, or that the facts go to establish any fixed rule. 
But under the present situation of steamboat discipline and 
regulation a tolerably fair conclusion can be drawn from it. 
Taking the period then of two years, from the fall of 1831 till that 
of 1833, we have a list of boats gone out of service of sixty- 
six ; of these fifteen were abandoned as unfit for service; seven 
were lost by ice ; fifteen were burnt ; twenty-four snagged ; 
and five destroyed by being struck by other boats. Deducting 
the fifteen boats abandoned as unseaworthy, we have fifty-one 
lost by accidents peculiar to the trade. In number this pro- 
portion is over twelve per cent, per annum ; in tonnage the 
loss is upward of ten per cent. Amount snagged, three thous- 
and three hundred and thirty tons. 

A curious fact was ascertained by a committee of gentle- 
mon, who were appointed a few years ago, by a number of 
steamboat owners, to investigate the whole subject. They 
satisfied themselves, that although the benefits conferred on our 
-country, by steam navigation, were incalculable, the stock in- 
vested in boats was, as a general rule, a losing investment. 
In few cases, owing to fortuitous events, or to the exercise of 
more than usual prudence, money has been made; but the in- 
stances are so few as not to eff'ect the rule. One gentleman, 
who has been engaged for years in the ownership of steam- 
boats and has been peculiarly fortunate, in not meeting with 
any loss by accident, assured the writer, that his aggregate 
gain, during the whole series of years, was only about six per 



122 Gould's hi.story of rivek navigation. 

cent per year, on the capital invested. These facts go to- 
wards accounting for the enormous proportion of accidents 
and losses which occur upon our rivers. A few instances, in 
which large profits Avere realized, induced a great number of 
individuals to embark m ihis business, and the tonnage had al- 
ways been greater than the trade demanded. The accidents, 
which are almost wholly the result of bad management, were 
set down as among the unavoidable chances of the navigation, 
and instead of adopting measures to prevent them, they were 
deliberately subtracted from the supposed protits, as matters 
of course. As the boat was not exi)ected to last more than 
five or six years, at best, and would probably be burned up, 
or sunk within that period, it was considered good economy 
to reduce the expenditures, and to make money by any means, 
during the brief existence of the vessel. Boats were hastily 
and slightly built, furnished with cheap engines, and placed 
under the charge of wholly incompetent persons; the most in- 
excusable devices were resorted to. to get freight and passen- 
gers, and the most criminal indifference to the safety of the 
boat and those on board, observable during the trip. 

The writer was once hurried from Louisville to Shippings- 
port, two miles below, without his breakfast, and in the rain, 
to get board a boat which was advertised to start at eight 
o'clock on that morning. During the whole day, passengers 
continued to come on board, puffing and blowing — in the 
most eager haste to secure a passage — each having been as- 
sured by the captain or agent, that the boat would start in 
less than an hour. The next day presented the same scene; 
the rain continued to fall; we were two miles from the city, 
lying against a miry hank which prevented any one from 
leaving the boat — the fires were burning, the steam hissing 
and the boat only waiting for the captain, who would be ou 
board in a few minutes. By and by the captain came — 
but then we must wait a few minutes for the clerk, and when 
the clerk came, the captain found that he must go up to town. 
Tn the meantime, passengers continued to accumulate, each 
decoved alike by the assurance that the boat was about to de- 
part. Thus we were detained until the third day, when tlie 
cabin and deck being crowded with a collection nearly as mis- 
cellaneous as the crew of Noah's ark, the captain thought 
proper to proceed on his voyage. It was afterwards under- 
stood that when the captain began to collect passengers, a part 
of his ensine was on shore, undergoing repairs which could 
not be completed in less than two days, yet during the whole 



IMPOSITION PRACTICED UPON PASSENGEK8. 123 

of tRose two days fires were kept up, and gentlemen and 
latlie.s inveigled on board, in tlic manner related. 

We mention this to .show the kind of deception which has 
been i)racticed. This, it is true, was an extreme case, but al- 
though the detention is not usually so great, nor the deceit so 
gross, it is not uncommon for stcamljoat captains and agents 
to deceive passengers by the most egregious misrepresenta- 
tions. 

The fact is important, not merely as showing the inconven- 
iences to which travelers are expose<l, but as explaining one of 
thv causes of the numerous accidents on the Western waters — 
which is, bad faith. The man who will do one dishonest act, 
will do another. The agent or oliicer, who will deliberately 
kidnap men, by the assurance that he will start to-day, when 
he knows that he will not .start till to-morrow, and the owner 
who will permit such conduct, will not shrink at any act by 
which he may think his interest likely to be promoted — and, 
having insured the boat, will risk the lives of the passengers 
by running at improper seasons, and other hazards, by which 
time may be saved and the expenses of the trip diminished. 

The threat dauL'^er to boats from snaj^s has now become 
gieatly diminished on the Mississi))pi, and has almost entirely 
ceased in the Ohio, in consequences of the measures adopted 
for the removal of these obstacles. 

The burning of boats must be the result of carelessness; 
and the dreadful conse(]uences arising, from the collision are 
produced by negligence and design. There is scarcely a con- 
ceivable case in which boats may not avoid running against 
each other in the night; and there are many instances in 
which the officers of steamboats have been induced, by a fero- 
cious spirit of rivalry, or some other unworthy motive, to run 
against weaker boats in such a manner as to sink them in- 
stantly. 

It is proper however, to state, that the accidents occurring 
on steamboats have been greatly magnified by premature and 
inaccurate newspaper reports, and that they have been much 
fewer and less fatal than has generally been supposed. 

It is also true, that much of the evil alluded to is attributed 
to the precipitancy and culpable negligence with regard to their 
own safety and comfort of the passengers. The accidents are 
almost wholly confined to insufficient or badly managed boats, 
and the traveler who would be cautious in embarking only in 
tliose of the more respectable class would almost uniformly 
insure himself against danger. A choice of boats, embracing 
every variety, from the best to those that are wholly unsea 



124 Gould's history of rivek navigation. 

worthy, is presented at all of our principal places of embark- 
ation. Yet such is the feverish impatience of delay, evinced 
by most travelers in our country, that the great majority has- 
ten on board the first boat which offers, regardless of her 
character, and only anxious to the moving forward, uader 
any discomfort, and at every hazard. The bad boats receive 
undue patronage, the best do not meet the preference to which 
they are entitled, and are not compensated for the extra ex- 
l)enditure bestowed upon their outfit and management ; and the 
inckicements to accommodate the public well being weakened, 
neither the owners or officers of their boats, nor the same 
degree of responsibility, which would occur if the public 
patronage was more judiciously })estowed. 

The following remarks occur in a letter to the Secretary of 
the Treasury, from Mr. William C. RefSeld, agent of the steam 
navigation company at New York, and are considered as em- 
bracing the steam navigation of the whole Union. 

"The contest for speed, or practice of racing, between rival 
steamboats, has been the cause, and perhaps justly, of con- 
siderable alarm in the community. It is remarkable, however, 
that as far as the information of the writer extends, there has 
no accident occured to any boiler which can be charged to a 
contest of this sort. The close and uniform attention which 
is necessarily given to the action and state of the boiler and 
engines, in such contests, may have had a tendency to prevent 
disaster. But this hazard, as well as the general danger of 
generating an excess of steam, is greatly lessened by the known 
fact, that in most steamboats the furnaces and boilers are not 
competent to furnish a greater supply of steam than can be used 
with safety, with an ordinary degree of attention on the part 
of the engineers. 

" The magnitude and extent of the danger to which passen- 
gers in steamboats are exposed, though sufficiently appalling, 
is comparatively much less than in other modes of transit with 
which the public have been long familiar. The accidents of 
which, if not so astounding, are of almost every day occur- 
ence. It will be understood that I allude to the dangers of 
ordinary navigation, and land conveyances by animal power 
of wheel carriages. In the former case, the whole or greater 
part of both passengers and crew are frequently lost, and 
sometimes by the culpable ignorance or folly of the officers in 
charge, Avhile no one thinks of urging a legislative remedy for 
this too common catastrophe. In the latter class of cases, 
should inquiry be made for the number of casualties oc- 
curing in various districts in a given number of years, and 



STEAMBOATS THE SAFEST MODE OF TRAVELING. 125 

the results fairly applied to our ^vhole population and travel, 
the comparitively small number injured or destroyed in steam- 
boats would be matter of great surprise to those not accus- 
tomed to make such estimates upon passing events. It is also 
worthy of notice, that if the annual average loss of life by the 
electric stroke were ascertained in the manner above proposed, 
the results wo\dd f)robably show a loss of life by this rare 
casualty far exceeding that which is occasioned by accidents 
in steamboats." 

In the year 1832 it was estimated that, besides the steam- 
boats, there were four thousand flatboats annually descending 
the Mississippi, whose aggregate measure would be one hun- 
dred and sixty thousand tons. As these do not return, the 
loss on them would amount to $420,000, and the expense of 
loading, navigating and unloading them $960,000 — making 
the whole annual expenditure upon this class of boats, 
$1,380,000. 

In the same year the aggregate cost of steamboats, the ex- 
penses of running them, interest, wear and tear, wood, wages 
and subsistence of crews and passengers, was estimated at 
$5,906,000. 

The total expenditure on steam and flatboats was, according 
to this calculation, $7,286,000. 

The value of produce exported in these boats, together w»itb 
the labor expended in and about them, was estimated at 
$26,000,000. 

The different descriptions of boats navigated on the Western 
rivers, in that year, were supposed to give employment to 
sixteen thousand nine hundred men, namely : — 

To mechanics and laborers employed in building 20 steamboats, and 

repairing others $1,700 

Wood cutters 4,400 

Crews of steamboats 4,800 

Building flatboats 2,000 

Navigating flatboats to New Orleans 4,000 

Total §16,900 

But adding to those who are directly engaged the much 
larger number who are indirectly employed in making engines 
and in furnishing, supplying, loading and discharging boats, 
the whole number of persons deriving subsistence from this 
navigation, in 1832, was supposed to be ninety thousand. 
That number has since been greatly increased. Duringthe last 
season there was built at Pittsburgh and the neighboring towns 



126 Gould's history of rivek navigation. 

about twenty-five steamboats, at Cincinnati and its neigti 
borhood about twenty-five. 

From 1822 to ltS27 the loss of property on the Ohio and 
Mississippi, by snags, including steam and flatboats, and their 
cargoes amounted to $1,362,500. Loss in the same items 
from the same cause, from 1827 to 1832, $381,000. 



CHAPTEE XXyil. 

WE close this part of our subject with the following ex- 
tracts from two very interesting articles published in 
the Wheeling Gazette, since our table of steamboats was com-, 
piled: 

"We are informed on good authority that the number of 
boats built the present year between Louisville and Pittsburgh, 
including those places, will not fall short of fifty. About 
thirty-five of these are for distant parts of the country — for 
the southern and westernmost states : the remaining fifteen 
will be added to our river trade, increasing the number of boats 
thi>s employed to about sixty. Supposing the amount of 
freight conveyed in each boat to be forty tons down and 
twenty up, some opinion may be formed of the amount of 
merchandise transported yearly upon the Ohio. The river 
may be estimated to be navigable from six to eight months in 
the year, and each boat to perform twelve trips from Wheel- 
ing to Louisville and back. Each boat, then transports twelve 
times forty tons down, and half this quantity up, equal to 
seven hundred and twenty tons. This multiplied by sixty, 
the number of boats, gives forty-three thousand two hundred 
tons as the gross amount of merchandise transported yearly 
in steamboats upon the Ohio. 

To fix the value of this merchandise is not so easy. Yet 
something like accuracy may be obtained. It is said that a 
wagon load of dry goods, weighing two tons, will cost about 
$4,000, and that western merchants that purchase $8,000 worth 
receive them generally in two wagon loads. This would make 
a ton of dry goods worth $2,000. As grosser and heavier 
articles, however, are sent down the river in large quantities, 
the value per ton may be rated at $500. Fort}^ times five hun- 
dred gives $20,000 as the value of each cargo ; this, multiplied 
by twelve gives $240,000 as the amount conveyed by each 



NUMBER AND COST OF STEAM AND FLAT-BOATS. 127 

■boat during the season ; and this multiplied by sixty, the num- 
ber of boats, gives the sum of $14,800,000 as the value of 
the down freight in a single year. This is independent of 
the merchandise conveyed in keel and iiatboats, and the im- 
mense amount of lumber which almost covers the face of the 
river in the spring season. The value of the merchandise 
transported up the river may be estimated at $1,500,000. 
Making the total value of merchandise transported in steam- 
boats yearly on the Ohio, upw'ards of $16,000,000. 

The number of steamboats employed in 1842, in navigating 
the Mississippi and its tributaries, was four hundred and fifty. 
The average burden of these boats was two hundred tons each, 
making an aggregate of ninety-thousand tons, and their aggre- 
gate value at $80 per ton, $7,200,000. Many of these were 
fine vessels, affordino; the most elegant accommodations for 
passengers, and comparing favorably, in beauty of model, 
<;om})leteness of finish, and all other particulars, with the best 
packets in any part of the world. 

The number of persons enjraged in navigating our steaai- 
boats varies from tweuty to fifty to each boat. The average 
is about thirty-five persons, which will give a total of thirty- 
five thousand seven hundred and fifty persons embarked in 
this navigation. 

It appears, from the reports of the Louisville and Portland 
canal, that more than seven hundred flatboats have passed that 
canal in one year. At this rate there cannot be less than four 
thousand descending the Mississippi, and allowing five men to 
each boat, there are twentj' thousand persons engaged in this 
branch of the navigation. The cost of these boats is $420,000, 
which, as they do not return, is an annual expense, and the 
expense of loading, navigating and unloading them is $960,000, 
making the whole annual expenditure upon this class of boats 
$1,380,000. 

In 1834, the number of steamboats in existence, on the 
Western waters, was two hundred and thirty, and they were 
estimated to carry thirty nine thousand tons. 

Previous to the adoptation of steamboat navigation, say in 
1817, the whole commerce, from New Orleans to the upper 
country, was carried in about twenty barges, averaging one 
hundred tons each, and making but one trip a year. The 
number of keel boats employed on the Ujoper Ohio couldnothave 
exceeded one hundred and fifty, carrying thirty tons each, and 
making the trip from Pittsburg to Louisville and back in two 
months, or about three voyages in a season. The tonnage of 



128 Gould's history of river navigation.. 

all the boats ascending the Ohio an 1 Lower Mississippi was 
then about six thousand five hundred. 

lu 1834, the number of steamboats was two hundred and 
thirty, and the tonnage equal to about thirty-nine thousand 
tons; and in 1842, the number of boats was four hundred and 
fifty, and their burden ninety thousand tons. 

In 1832, it was calculated that the whole number of persons 
deriving subsistence from this navigation, including the crews 
of steam and flatboats, mechanics and laborers employed in 
building and repairing boats, was ninety thousand. As the 
number of boats had doubled since that time, the number of 
people directly engaged in and about this navigation in 1842, 
was not less than one hundred and eighty thousand ; but who 
shall place a limit to the numbers who are beneficially inter- 
ested, in a business which distributes its millions of dollars for 
wood, its millions for wages, its millions for provisions, its 
millions for machinery and the labor of mechanics, and which 
transports a commerce whose value can only be computed by 
hundreds of millions? 

The cost of building and of running boats has not chang-ed 
essentially within the last few years. The price of some 
items have risen, but others have been reduced, so as to leave 
but little difference in the general results. 

In the construction of the boats there has been a progres- 
sive and very decided improvement. Their models have been 
changed to suit the exigencies of the navigation. The great 
objects have been to obtain speed and capacity for carrying 
freight, with power to stem the heavy currents of our rivers, 
and the less possible draught of water. In all these respects 
our boats have been improved from year to year, and are still 
improving. The most marked changes consist in a great in- 
crease in the length and decrease in the depth of the boats, 
adding to their speed and lightness of draught. 

Boats are constructed now more than formerly for particu- 
lar trades, and are specially adapted for the purposes for which 
they are intended. Lines of packets have been established, 
between all the more important places, which run regularly, 
and which have attained a commendable degree of punctuality 
in their departures and arrivals. All these are comfortable, 
manyof them very fine, and a few of them very superior. 
The large passenger boats, running between New Orleans and 
Vicksburgh, St. Louis and Louisville, are inferior to nothing 
of the kind in any part of the world. The cabing are spacious 
and elegant, the state rooms commodious, and the tables equal 
to the ordinaries of the best hotels and far superior to those 



PLEASURE AND LUXURY OF STEAMBOAT TRAVELING. 12& 

of any but the very best. The officers are not only accom- 
modating, but generally kind and hospitable, treating the 
passengers as their guests, and taking pains to render the 
voyage agreeable. The company on board these boats is 
usually good, and it is an admirable peculiarity in our Western 
traveling, that fellow travelers avoid the exclusive and selfish 
deportment which is seen elsewhere, and mingle freely to- 
gether, seeking the acquaintance and society of each other, 
and all contributing to the common comfort and amusement. 
A tri}) to New Orleans in one of our best boats often resem- 
bles a party of pleasure, and combines in its incidents much 
variety, and no small degree of luxury. 

The men of business in the West, and all who are in easy 
circumstances, travel often and very extensively, and are thus 
very decidedly acquainted with each other. Besides the 
crowds who go annually to New Orleans upon business, there 
are other crowds who seek to while away a few of the weeks 
or months of the winter, in festivity, amid the gay and novel 
scenes of that busy metropolis, large and cheerful parties 
thus meet on board the steamboats, and, as they must neces- 
sarily be several days together, they endeavor to accommo- 
date themselves to each other, and to yjass the time agreeably; 
and it often happens that the greater portion of the cabin 
passengers form one circle, in which affability and freedom 
from constraint are chastened by perfect decorum and good 
Oreedinsf. Music and dancing are the chief amusements; and 
at night, when the spacious cabin of one of our Leviathan 
boats is lighted up, enlivened by the merry notes of theviolin, 
and filled with well dressed persons, it seems more like a 
floating palace than a mere conveyance for wayfarers. These 
fine boats are safe as well as speedy, making the trip from 
Louisville or St. Louis to New Orleans in four or five days, 
and the upward voyage in six or seven da3's. 

The mailboats between Louisville and Cincinnati are also 
very fine boats. Messrs. Strader & Gorman, the original pro- 
prietors of this line, have the merit not only of having been 
the first to establish a regular line of packets in the West, but 
of carrying out their plan Avith eminent success, with profit to 
themselves, and with great advantage to the public. They 
were the first to have fixed hours of departure, and to adhere 
to them with punctuality. Their boats have alwaj's been of 
the first class, the accommodations excellent, and the ofiicials 
skillful and obliging; and it is with pleasure that we record the 
fact, so creditable to all concerned, that in more than twenty 
years, during which this line has been in existence, no accident 



130 Gould's history of river navigation. 

has occurred by which the life or limb of a passenger hasbeen 
endangered. This line has lately passed into the hands of 
other owners who run a morning and evening line, and under 
whose management the boats have maintained, and we have no 
doubt will continue to maintain, their high character. 

There is also a daily line of packets between Pittsburgh and 
Cincinnati, deserving of the highest commendation. There are 
few boats anywhere finer than the most of those engaged in 
this line. They are large vessels, vvith fine accommodations 
and are well managed. The proprietors, in a recent adver- 
tisement, assert that in the last six years they have carried 
two millions of people annually. The character of the per- 
sons who make this statement, and the acknowledged excellence 
of their boats, leave no room to doubt its correctness, and from 
our own observation, we feel no hesitation in giving implicit 
faith in it. The Neiv York Courier and Enquirer, comment- 
ing on this fact, has this pointed remark : — 

What a movement is here of human beings, each intent 
upon his own well being, and acting in obedience to his own 
views of self interest! — what a future is unfolded for such a 
country, so replenished, and with such safe and rapid means of 
inter-communication ! 

" When, too, it is considered that there are various other 
avenues to the Western paradise, each crowded by its thous- 
ands, and its tens of thousands, one can hardly exaggerate the 
growth of such a country, or the responsibilities which devolve 
upon its general government to provide, by all adequate and 
constitutional means, for adding to the security of the great 
avenues and ports which are thus annually thronged by emi- 
grants and travelers. 

" The fact that two millions of persons, to say nothing of 
property, have been transported on the waters that connect 
Pittsburgh with Cincinnati, should be conclusive with the 
general government in favor of the exercise of all its legiti- 
mate power to improve the harbors of these cities, and the 
channels of the far-descended rivers which connect them." 

St. Louis is one of the oldest places in the West, having 
been settled by the French in 1763; Pierre Chouteau and 
other Frenchmen were very successful in conciliating the con- 
fidence of the Indians, and extended the barter of merchandise 
for furs and peltry, throughout most of the Western tribes. 
The whole of the Indian trade of the country lying upon the 
Mississippi and its tributaries, centered at that point ; at 
which was also the depot for all the militar}^ posts on the 
W^estern frontier, and the headquarters for most of the officers 



INCKEASE OF POPULATION FROM 1700 TO 1853. 131 

and RO'ents of the government having transactions in the far 
West. The lead mines in Missouri and the inexhaustible 
beds of the mineral more recently discovered in Illinois and 
Wisconsin render this the principle market for that article, of 
which immense quantities are annually exported. Wheat, 
corn, pork, tobacco and hemp, are largely produced in the 
vast region of fertile land lying around, of which St. Louis 
is, and must ever be, the emporium. 

8t. Louis has, therefore, always been a place of great re- 
sort, and of remarkable activity in business; and its geographi- 
cal position seems to insure for it a continuance of that pre- 
eminence. Its central position in relation to New Orleans on 
the one band, and the vast expanse of country on the other, 
gives its natural advantages, as a commercial place, which are 
unritaled, and these advantages are well appreciated and im- 
proved by a sound and enterprising population. St. Louis 
holds the same rank in respect to the region of the Upper 
Mississippi that Cincinnati occupies in relation to that of the 
Ohio — east of them is the mart and commercial metropolis 
of a wide area, in which they are each unrivaled. 

We have before us a valuable report, "prepared by au- 
thority of the delegates from the City of St. Louis, for the 
use of Chicago convention of July 5, 1847," from which we 
select the following passages: 

" At the first census (1790), the population of the Valley of 
the Mississippi did not exceed two hundred thousand. In 1800, 
it had increased to about five hundred and sixty thousand ; in 
1810, to one million three hundred and seventy thousand ; in 
1820, to two millions five hundred and eighty thousand; in 
1830, to four millions one hundred and ninety thousand ; in 
1840, to six millions three hundred and seventy thousand ; and 
in 1847, according to the present average ratio of increase, it 
exceeds ten millions five hundred and twenty thousand. In 
the year 1850, according to such ratio, it will exceed twelve 
millions, and be about equal to the population of all the 
Atlantic States. 

The history of Missouri alone, however, exhibits a still more 
extraordinary increase. In 1771, the population was seven 
hundred and forty-three; in 1799, it was six thousand and 
five; in 1810, it was twenty thousand eight hundred and^forty- 
five; in 1820, it was sixty-six thousand five hundred and 
eighty-six; in 1830, it was one hundred and forty thousand 
four hundred and fort^-five ; in 1840, it was three hundred 
and eighty-three thousand seven hundred and two ; and ac- 
cording to the same ratio of increase (one hundred and sev- 



132 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

enty-three per cent decenially), it is, 1847, eight hundred 
and twenty-five thousand and seventy-four, being an increase 
of sixteen per cent per annum. But while the decenial in- 
crease of Missouri was one hundred and seventy -three per cent, 
that of Illinois was two hundred and two, Mississippi, one 
hundred and seventy-five, and Arkansas, two hundred and 
twenty-one per cent. 

The commerce and agriculture of this valley exhibits a 
growth as surprising as that of its population. 

The first schooner of the northern lakes, the " GriflSn," in 
1679, was freighted with the first commercial enterprise and 
settlement that reached the Valley of the Mississippi. Thus, 
the rivers of the valley owe to the great lakes the introduction 
of commerce and population. 

From that period up to the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, 
and even later, the fur trade of the French emigrants with th& 
Indians constituted a leading pursuit of the inhabitants, 
especially of the upper half of the Valley of the Mississippi. 
These immense rivers and lakes were navigated from Quebec, 
on the St. Lawrence, to the Yellow Stone, on the Missouri, by 
bark canoes, and the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, connecting 
the lakes with the Mississippi, were a chief thoroughfare of 
the trade. 

Next to the canoe came the Mackinaw boat carrying fifteen 
hundred weight to three tons, and then the keel boat or barge 
of thirty to forty tons. The first appearance of the keel boat 
in the Mississippi, above the mouth of the Ohio, of which we 
have any account, was in 1751, when a fleet of boats, com- 
manded by Bossu, a captain of French marines, ascended as 
far as Fort Chartres. This enterprise, also, was the first to 
ascertain, by experience, something of the nature of the navi- 
gation of the Mississippi. One of the boats, the " St. 
Louis," struck a sand bar above the mouth of the Ohio, was 
unladen and detained two days. Three days after, says the 
Traveler, " my boat ran against a tree, of which the Missis- 
sippi is full ; the shock burst the boat, and such a quantity of 
water got into it that it sunk in less than an hour's time." 
This was probably the first boat snagged on the Mississippi. 
From three to four months was the time consumed at this 
period, and for many years afterwards, in a voyage from New 
Orleans to the settlements in the vicinity of St. Louis; a 
voyage occupying a steamboat, in 1819, twenty-seven days; 
but which of late has been accomplished in less than four days. 

The city of St. Louis is the base of the navigation of all 
the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries, and the head of 



ST. LOUIS AS THE GREAT STEAMBOAT CENTER. 133 

navifijatiou for the larger boats of the Ohio and Lower Missis- 
sippi. Here is concentrated all the trade of the Upper Mis- 
sissippi, Missouri, and the Illinois rivers, and a large portion 
of the Ohio, and the Lower Mississippi. Hence is exhibited 
as busy and as crowded a wharf as can any where be seen, 
upon which are commingled people of many nations, and 
products of every clime, and every species of industry. The 
city was built upon a limestone bluff, of moderate elevation, 
fronting on the Mississippi, whose waters washed its base with 
a convenient depth. From the condition of a fur trader's 
post, it has grown to the quality of a city, promising soon to 
be of the first class. From a mere boat load of traders, its 
population has gone on multiplying until it has reached the 
number of fifty thousand. From a trade of a few thousand 
dollars in furs and peltries, a commerce has arisen which 
counts its millions. It has grown to be the greatest steam 
boat port, next to New Orleans, in the world." Its. enrolled 
and licensed tonnage was, in 

1844 16,fi64 

1845 20,424 

184« 23,800 

At $65 per ton, its tonnage, for 1846, was worth $1,547,000- 
But this tonnnge of its own is not all that is required by its 
trade. The total number of steamboat arrivals at St. Louis 
was: — 

In 1839, 1,476 with 213,193 tons. 
In 1840, 1,721 with 244,185 tons. 
In 1841, 2,105 with 371,691 tons. 
In 1842, 2,412 with 467,824 tons. 

Besides eight hundred and one flatboars, and is exclusive of 
the daily packets to Alton. During the mouth of May, 1846, 
there were twelve steamboat arrivals per day." 



134 Gould's history of iuvek navigation. 



CHAPTER XXYIII. 

THE FIRST WAR STEAMBOAT. 
[From Prebies' Steam Xavigatlon.] 

NEAE the close of 1813, Robert Fulton exhibited to the Pres- 
ident of the United States the drawing of a proposed icar 
steamer or floating battery, named by him the Demologus. 
He contemplated in addition to the proposed armament on 
deck, she should have four submarine guns. Two suspended at 
each bow, to discharge a hundred-pound ball into an enemy 
ten or twelve feet below her water line, and that she should 
have an engine for throwing an immense column of hot water 
upon the decks or through ports of an op])onent. Her esti- 
mated cost was $300,000, which was about the cost of a first- 
class sailing frigate. 

Fulton's project was favorably received, and in March, 1813, 
a law authorizing the President to cause to be equipped one 
or more floating batteries, for the defense of the w^aters of 
the United States. The construction of the vessel was com- 
mitted by the Coast and Harbor Defense Association, to a 
sub-committee of five gentlemen appointed by William Jones, 
Secretary of the Navy. Robert Fulton, whose soul animated 
the enterprise, was appointed the enirineer,and on the 20th of 
June, 1814, the keels of this novel steamer were laid, at the 
ship 3^ard of Adam and Noah Brown in the cit}^ of New York. 

The blockade of our coast by the enemy enhanced the price 
of timber and rendered the importation of lead, iron and cop- 
per and the supply of coal from Richmond and Liverpool dif- 
ficult. These obstacles, however, were surmounted, and the 
enemies blockade only increased the expense of her construc- 
tion. 

With reference to the mechanics and laborers there was 
no difiiculty. Shipwrights had repaired to the lakes in such 
numbers that comparatively few were left on the seaboard. 
Besides, large numbers had enlisted as soldiers. By an in- 
crease of wages, however, a sufficient number of laborers were 
obtained and the vessel was launched on the 20th of October, 
1814, amidst the hurrahs of assembled thousands. 

The river and bay was filled with steamers and vessels of 
war, in coni|)liment to the occasion. In the midst of these 
was the floating mass of the Demologus, or Fulton, as she was 



DIMENSIONS OF FULTON THE FIRST. 135 

afterwards named, whose bulk and unwield}^ form seemed to 
render her as unfit for motion as were the land batteries that 
were saluting her. 

Captain David Porter, writing to the Secretary of the Navy, 
under date of the 14th October, 181b, says, "I have the 
pleasure to inform you that the " Fulton the First," was this 
morning safely launched. No one yet has ventured to suggest 
any improvement that could be made in the vessel, and to use 
the words of the projector, ' I would not alter her if it ivas in 
my jjower to do so.' 

She promises fair to answer our most sanguine expecta- 
tions, and I do not despair in being able to navigate in her 
from one extreme end of the coast to the other. Her buoy- 
ancy' astonishes every one. She now draws only eight feet three 
inches of water, and her draft will be ten feet when her guns, 
machinery stores and crew are all on board. The ease by 
which she can now be towed by a single steaniboat, renders it 
certain that her relaxity will be sufficiently great to answer 
every purpose, and the manner it is intended to secure her 
machinery from the gunners' shot, leaves no apprehension for 
its safety. I shall use every exertion to prepare her for imme- 
diate service. Her guns will soon be mounted, and I am as- 
sured by Mr. Fulton that her machinery will be in operation 
in about six weeks." 

On the 21st of November, 1814, the " Fulton " was moved 
from the wharf of Mess. Brown on the east river to the works 
of Robert Fulton on the North river to receive her machinery. 
The steamboat Car of Neptune made fast to her port and the 
"Fulton" to her starboard side, towed her to her destina- 
tion at the rate of three and half miles an hour. 

The dimensions of this the^^rs^ war steamer were: Length, 
150 feet, breadth, 5G feet, depth, 20 feet, water-wheel, 16 feet 
diameter, length of bucket, 14 feet, dip, 4 feet, engine, 48 inch 
cylinder, 5 feet stroke; boiler 22 feet length, breadth 12 feet, 
and depth 8 feet. Tonnage 2,475. She was the largest 
steamer by many hundreds of tons that had been built at the 
date of her launch." 

The commissioners to examine her in their report say: 
** She is a structure resting on two boats, keels separated 
from end to end by a canal 15 feet wide and 60 feet long. 
One boat contains the cauldrons of copper to prepare her 
steam. The vast cylinder of iron with its pistons, levers and 
wheels occupies a part of its fellow. The great water-wheel 
revolves in the space between them. The main or gun deck, 
supporting her armament is protected by a bulwark four feet 



136 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ten inches thick, of solid timber. This is pierced by thirty 
port holes to enable as many as thirty-two pounders to lire red 
hot balls. Her upper or spar deck, upon which several thous- 
andmen might parade, is encompassed by a bulwark which a f- 
fords safe quarters. She is rigged by two short masts, each 
of which supports a large lateen yawl and sails. She has two 
bowsprits and gibs and four rudders, two at each extremity 
of the boat so that she can be steered either end foremost. 
Her machinery is calculated for the addition of an engine 
which will discharge an immense column of hot water, which 
is intended to throw upon the decks and all through the ports 
of an enemy. If in addition to all this we suppose her to be 
furnished according to Mr. Fulton's intention, with one hun- 
dred pounder Columbiads, two suspended from each bow, so 
as to discharge a ball of that size into an enemy's ship, ten or 
twelve feet below the water line, it must be allowed that she 
has the appearance at least of being the most formidable en- 
gine of warfare that human ingenuity has contrived." 

Such is a correct description of this sea monster of 1814. 
But exaggerated and fabulous accounts of her got into circula- 
tion. Among others the following was published in a Scotch 
newspaper, the writer stating that he had taken great care to 
procure full and accurate information. 

' Her length, he writes, on deck is three hundred feet, thick- 
ness of sides tliirteenfeet, of alternate oak and cork plank, car- 
ries 44 guns. Four of which are 100 pounders. And further 
to annoy an enemy attempting to board, can discharge 100 
gallons of boiling water, in a minute, and by mechanism 
brandishes three liundred cutlasses with the uttermost regular- 
ity over the gunwales. Works also an equal number of iron 
pikes of great length, darting through from her sides with 
prodigious force every quarter of a minute. 

The War having terminated, aft&i- many trials of speed, and 
to improve the ordinance and machiner}^ on board of her, 
" Fulton the First," was taken to the navy yard at Brooklyn, 
and moored at the flats abreast of that station, where she was 
used as a receiving ship, until the 4th of June, 1829, fifteen 
years after the laying of her keels, when she was accidentally 
or purposely blown up." 

By this explosion 24 men and women were killed, 19 
wouuded, and five missing and probably killed." 

As there was but little powder on board (only two and half 
pounds and that damaged) it was evidently the work of in- 
cendiarism. 

Thus ignominiously ended the first steam vessel of war ever 



REMINISCENCES OF MANUAL WHITE, ESQ. 137 

•constructed for that purpose. But from that crude and un- 
wieldy mass of wood and iron, the finest specimens of naval 
architecture sprang rapidly into existence — and the great 
inventive mind that gave it life has long since ceased to be 
remembered with the admiration due to his great genius. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 

FIRST TOWNS ON THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI. 
REMINISCENCES OF MANUEL WHITE, ESQ., OF NEW ORLEANS. 

IN the year 1801, Louisville, or Falls of Ohio, was a small 
village of 500 or 600 inhabitants. Small as the place was, 
it witnessed the arrival and departure of great numl)ers of 
barges, keel-boats and flat-boats, as, every boat whether bound 
to New Orleans or down the river, was obliged to stop here in 
order to be piloted through the rapids. Wonderful were the 
tales told by the Western boatmen of hairbreadth escapes 
from flood and field, and the prowling Indians who infested 
the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi. Early in the month of 
May, 1800, the keel of a large brig was laid, which in the 
course of the year was launched, but did not arrive in New 
Orleans for a considerable time after. The writer, then a 
youth, employed by Wilson and Eastin, assisted in loading 
thirteen flat-boats with tobacco, flour, etc., and in company 
with one of the owners, set out about the first of June, 1801, 
for New Orleans. The fleet did not land in New Orleans 
until about the first of August, having been upon the voyage 
sixty days. The population of New Orleans was rated at that 
time about six thousand, including blacks and colored. There 
was not to be seen on the banks of the Ohio from the foot of 
the Falls to the mouth but a small settlement called Red 
Banks, another called Yellow banks. Fort Massac, and a 
■cabin below the cave in rock. From the mouth of the 
Ohio to Bayou Sara, there were only two inhabited places, on 
the right bank. New Madrid and Point Chicot. 

On the left side all the human habitants that were seen 
until we arrived at Point Coupee were Brownsburg, Natchez, 
and Fort Adams. All the rest was a dreary waste, over which 
the bear and the crocodile held their sway, unless interrupted 
by the occasional sojourn of an Indian tribe. Upon our ar- 
rival at New Orleans, the men composing the crew* of those 



138 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

thirteen flat-boats, commenced to make preparations for a. 
journey homeward. They crossed hike Ponchatruin upon 
schooners and small boats, and striking the Natchez Trace, 
commenced their long walk of a thousand miles through the 
wilderness infected by savage Indians. It was seldom that 
they were attacked, as they were always in large bodies and 
well armed. At the time of my landing here, the country 
was under Spanish rule and remained so until 1803. — Ex De 
Bows. Review, 1S46. 



EARLY STEAMBOAT HISTORY DECEMBER, 1814. 

*' We find that a contract was made by the Mr. Fulton with 
the U. S. Government to put the steamboats Vesuvius, Etna 
and Buffalo in operation for the purpose of transporting 
troops and munitions of war on the Mississippi river. Three 
days after this contract was made, the steamboat Vesuvius 
was impressed, and taken into service at New Orleans when 
that city was threatened with invasion from the British forces, 
for which Mr. Fulton claimed remuneration. According to 
the testimony of Capt. John De Hart who commanded the 
Vesuvius in the year 1813, 1814 and 1815, says that as the 
Vesuvius, was the only steamboat between Louisville, Ky., 
and New Orleans during the great alarm occasioned by the ap- 
pearance of the British army before the city, her services were 
worth $900 per day, and for the whole time she was in the 
service of the U. S. Government she should be awarded the 
sum of $.50,000. 

This claim occupied the courts and Congress of the U. S. 
many 3'ears, and it was 32 years afterward when the govern- 
ment made a handsome appropriation for the heirs of" 
Robert Fulton. The bill passed Congress in 1846, award- 
ing $76,300. 

The Vesuvius was seized by order of Genl. Jackson at the 
time he proclaimed martial law in New Orleans, December, 
1814.1 

We therefore suppose she must have been here at the time 
the battle of New Orleans was fought." 



1 We flud in the old wharfage book kept at this port in January, 1815, 
the Steamboat Enterprise, Capf. Shreve registered, as follows: — The Enter 
prise refused to pay her wharfage dues, owing to martial law being pro- 
claimed at that date. 



DESTRUCTION Of LAFITTE S FLEET. 139 

THE FLEET OF LAFITTE, THE PIRATE OF THE GULF, CAPTURED 
AND DESTROYED. 

[Louisiana Gazette, Oct. 11th, 1814.] 

Information havinor been received in Auo-ust that Lafitte 
and his piratical band had taken a number of valuable prizes; 
and there being no doubt that the goods on board would, in 
violation of the law, be smuggled into the city, his Excellency, 
Governor Claiborn, requested Commodore Patterson of the 
U. S. Navy to make an ex})edition against this band of pirates, 
who had so long established themselves at Barrataria, on the 
Islands of Grand Isle and Grand Terre, and infested the ad- 
jacent waters. About the 11th of September, Commodore 
Patterson descended the Mi-^sissippi and met his gunboats at 
the Balize and without delay proceeded on the expedition. On 
the 16th, being near the })oint of attack, the Commodore 
formed the line of battle and stood for the Harbor of Grand 
Terre, which he entered. As the U. S. squadron approached 
the Island of Grand Terre, the pirates were observed forming 
their vessels in line and making preparation for battle, but 
they could not long stand before the long guns of the squadron, 
fled in dismay. 

They set fire to two of their best vessels. Before sunset 
the Commodore was in complete possession of the piratical 
vessels. The U.S. squadron consisted of the schooner Caro- 
lina and six gunboats. From the number of the pirates' ves- 
sels, and their advantageous position, a sharp and spirited de- 
fense was anticipated; their force of all nations and colors 
was estimated at not less than 500 men. All their buildings 
at Grand Tej-re, Grand Isle and Cheniere Caminada were de- 
stroyed. Twelve vessels fell into the power of the captors. 
A number of prisoners with a large quantity of merchandise 
was captured. On the 30th the squadron with the prizes ap- 
proached the city of New Orleans. The prizes brought up 
consisted of ten sails, seven of which were cruisers of Lafitte, 
and the other three, armed schooners under Carthagenian 
colors. 

Lafitte made his escape, but subsequently in the month of 
December, 1814, just before the battle of New Orleans, Gov- 
ernor Claiborn offered him pardon if he would surrender, 
which he did, and at the battle of New Orleans he had charge 
of the water batteries below the city, to prevent the British 
gunboats from passing. This service he performed, and was 
complimented by the Governor. He disappeared shortly 
after this, and we know not what became of him. 



140 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



A COPY OF THE WHARF EEGISTEK AT NEW ORLEANS FROM 1812 
TO 1820 INCLUSIVE. 



GIVING THE DATE OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE ORIGINAL STEAMBOATS, ALSO 
IHK NAiME OF THE CAPTAINS. 



STEAMBOAT. YFAR. MONTH. CAPTAUT. 

New Orleaus 1812 Jan. 12 J.Baker. 



Vesuvius J«14 

Enterprise " 

Etna 1815 

Dispatch J816 

Geu'l Pike " 

Washington •' 

Franklin " 

Constitution 1817 

Harriett " 

Buffalo 

Kentucky 

James Monroe " 

George Madison 181 

Vesta " 

Governor Shelby 

Gcn'l Jackson 

Cincinnati 

Ohio ♦♦ 

Napoleon •• 

Eagle «• 

Louisiana •' 

Newport «' 

Johnson " 



• May 16 R. De Hart. 

.Dec. 14 H M. Shreve. 

.April 24 ....John De Hart. 

• Feb. 13 

. Oct. 2 Benj . Booth. 

.Oct. 7 Henry M. Shreve. 

.Feb. 10 E. Youuge. 

.April 17 R. p. Guird. 

" May 6 J. Armitage. 

«' May 10 S. Ciaugh"; 

•' Nov, 12 B. Bosworth. 

'• Nov. 26 ....J. A. Paulfrey. 

.Jan. 1 J. A. Helton. 

" Jan. 24 J. Shackelford. 

" Mch 23 John T. Gray. 

" April 1 B. Hopkins. 

•• May 23 C. Paxon. 

♦♦ .....Jan. 9 H. M. Shreve. 

•• Jan. 19 1. Gregg. 

" .....July 19 Nicolas Berthoud, 

..August 6.. ..F. Duplises. 

..August 26. ..Benj. Booth. 

..Oct. 25 Silas Craig. 



Henderson " Dec. 30 Jonah Winters. 

Volcano 1819 Jan 4 Robinson De Hart. 

Alabama «' Jan 7 George Haushurst. 

Hecla «« Jan. 17 Francis Honorie. 

...Jan. 20 Thos. Sturges. 

«< Feb 6 John Paulfrey, 

« Feb 12 Wm. Morris. 

«' Feb 18 John Campbell 

" Feb. 26 Stephen Vail. 



Exchange ' 

James Ross 

Maid of Orleans 

Maysville 

Tamerlain 

Frankfort 

Rifleman *< 

Rising States ♦• 

St. Louis « 

Ramapo " 

Paragon.. " May 14 S. Cumraings, 

Mobile «« May29 D.Paul. 



Mch. 
.Mch. 
.Mcli. 
.April 



• May 4 



.J. G. Voohries, 
..S. M. Baruer. 
..Jas. Pierce. 
. .T. W. Hews. 
,.H. Reed. 



Gen'l Clark , 

Yankee *• 

Feliciana 1820 

Fayett '< 

Car of Commerce 

Beaver 

Gen'l Robertson 

Tennessee 

Rifleman 

Comet 



July 6 John Sowers. 

Dec. 10. ...P. A. Oliver. 

Feb. 9 P. A. Oliver. 

Feb. 20 Wm. Anderson, 

" Feb. 21 ... .Jas. Pierce. 

«' Feb. 21 D. Prentis. 

" Feb. 26 Luke Douglas, 

<« Feb, 26 Jos. Smith. 

" Feb. 27 S.M. Baruer. 

" Mch. 1 J.M.Byrne, 



ARRIVALS AT NEW ORLEANS. 14 L 

STEAMBOAT. TEAR. MONTH. CAPTAIN. 

United States 1620 Mch. 17 S.Hart. 

Columbus of New Orleans.. " Mch. 25 J.Forsyth. 

Gen'l Green " Mch. 25 G. M. Towers. 

Missouri *• Mch. 26 A. Gross. 

Manhattan 1819 Nov. 27 D. Jenkins. 

Rapids " Nov. 29 Thos. Sturges. 

Columbus of Kentucky *• April 4 L.Stephens. 

Cumberland " April 16 Wm. Walker, 

Vulcan " April 28 A. Ruter. 

F^yett *• April 29 John Mills. 

Teleeraph '• May 16 J. Armitage. 

Independence ** Oct. 22 J. Jenkins. 

Arkansas " Oct. 22 G. Rearick. 

Mississippi *' Nov. 7 Daniel McMeal. 

Velocipede " Nov. 29 Jacob Beckwith. 

Hornet 1821 Jan, 1 S. Brandenberg. 

Osage " Jan. 13 N. Bliss. 

Thos. Jefferson " Jan. 22 H. J. Offut. 

Olive Branch " Jan. 23 J.Sanders. 

Hero '♦ Feb. 12 B. Land. 

Alexandria *• April 10 Wm. Waters 

Gen'l Clark <« May 7 J.W.Byrne. 

Post Boy ** May 22 H. N. Breckenridge. 

Courier ** Jan. 6 J. Beckwith. 

Elizabeth «« Jan 9 J. B. Enlow. 

Dolphin " Jan. 24 C. Whiting. 

Providence '• . ...Dec 4 J. Lonsdale. 

Henry Clay *• Dec. 21 John Shalcross. 

Rocket. '« Dec. 28 W. H. Keer. 

Eliza... «• Dec. 28 B. Booth. 

Mandan " Dec. 28 Wm. Lynn. 

Geu'l Green ** Dec. 29 TheopMlas Minor. 



142 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

EMBARGO ON THE NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

THERE were three periods in the history of the Mississippi 
River, when the free navigation of this river was pro- 
hibited. 

First in 1785. During the Spanish occupation under Gov- 
ernor Miro an active trade from the population on the Ohio 
had forced itself down the Mississippi to every part of Louisi- 
ana, and the people of the Western settlements claimed the 
natural right to the use of the river through the province of 
Louisiana, although in the eyes of Spain the\' were unques- 
tionably citizens of foreign power. It had early become a mat- 
ter of great interest to the Spanish authorities to derive a large 
revenue from the trade by the importation of transit and port 
duties. A revenue officer, with asuitable guard, and a military 
post, was established at New Madrid, Chickasaw Bluffs, and 
other points, at which all boats were required to make land 
and comply with the revenue laws; which were enforced with 
visor, even to the seizure and confiscation of the car^o. 

The Western people believed these duties exorbitant and 
unjust towards those who possessed a natural right to navigate 
the river free of all such impositions. The whole people of 
the West determined to resist this unjust taxation and a mili- 
tary invasion of Louisiana was devised for redressing the 
wrongs of the Western people and seizing the port of New 
Orleans. 

At the same time the Western people, indignant at the neg- 
lect of the Federal Government in not securing them the free 
use of the Mississippi, were strongly tempted to separate from 
the Atlantic States and to secure for themselves an independ- 
ent government. The Spanish authorities, becoming alarmed 
at this threatened invasion, and knowing the power of the 
Western people, agreed to make the necessary concession of the 
free navigation of the river. It was under these circumstances 
that Col. James Wilkinson, of Kentucky, made an arrange- 
ment with the Spanish authorities to descend to New Orleans 
with several barges and tlat-boats loaded with flour and other ar- 
ticles of Western produce. Having reached New Orleans, he ob- 
tained an interview with the Governor and at length succeeded 
in securing for himself and the people of the West permis- 
sion to trade with the city and to introduce free of duties many 
-articles of Western produce adapted to the Louisiana market. 



ATTACHilENT OF BOATS BY FULTON AND LIVINGSTON. 143 

From this time forward the free navigation of the Mississippi 
was opened until 1612. — MotieU's History of the Valley of 
the Mississippi, 

SECOND PERIOD WHEN THE P REE NAVIGATION WAS PROHIBITED. 

In 1812, Livingston and Fulton obtained,a grant from the 
I^egislature of Louisiana for the exclusive right to navigate 
the waters of this State with steamboats behniging to their 
company. The first steamboat coming to the })ort of New 
Orleans that did not belong to the comi)any of Livingston & 
Fulton, was the Enterprise, Captain H. M. Shreve, in Decem- 
ber, 1814; immediately upon her arrival she was seized at the 
instigation of Livingston and Fulton, for infringing upon their 
rights to the exclusive navigation of the river within the bound- 
aries of Louisiana; Captain Shreve, as agent of the owners 
of the Enterprise, gave bond in the suit, and proposed to test 
the legality of any such law, or grant. The next independ- 
ent steamboat that appeared at this port was the Dispatch, in 
1815 ; she was also seized while, loading with a cargo of sugar 
and molasses for the Ohio, the cargo was forcibly taken 
out of her, and she was ordered to leav^ the waters of this 
State and not return, under threats of confiscation. The 
captain not being prepared with bail was compelled to obey 
this unjust order, and departed without cargo for the Ohio, 
glad to save his boat. The next boat seized for trespassing 
upon the waters of Louisiana was the steamboat Constitution, 
that arrived at this port in 1816. She, like the Dispatch, was 
compelled to depart from the waters of Louisiana without 
cargo. The people of the West hearing of these out- 
rageous proceedings of the authorities of Louisiana, held 
meetings at Cincinnati and Louisville and denounced the au- 
thorities of Louisiana for making any such grant to Livings- 
ton and Fulton, and demanded from the Congress of the 
United States that they should immediately abrogate and set 
aside any such grant to the free navigation of the Mississippi 
River, and if it was not done they would send an armed expe- 
dition to open up the river. Whilst this excitement was pro- 
gressing. Captain H. M. Shreve arrived at this port in 1816, 
with the steamer Washington, a large and fine steamboat of 
her time. She also was immediately seized at the instigation 
of Livingston and Fulton for trespassing upon their waters. 
Captain Shreve this time had the case placed in the United 
States court, and after waiting some months it was finally de- 
cided that the State of Louisiana had no right to srant to 



144 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Livingston and Fulton the exclusive right of navigating the- 
waters within her territory, and that all the rivers, lakes and 
bayous of the United States shall be free and open to all citi- 
zens of the United States, who might wish to navigate them 
with any kind of vessel. Thus ended the second attempt 
to prohibit the free navigation of the Mississippi. The 
third period when the free navigation of the Mississippi was 
interrupted was in 1861, shortly after the Civil War broke 
out between the United States and the Confederacy. A fort 
was established at Columbus, Kentucky, and no vessels of 
any kind were permitted to pass up or down. This blockade 
continued until 18(32, when Columbus was evacuated, also 
Memphis, Tenn., when the navigation was opened as far 
down as Vicksburg, and after the fall of Vicksburg and Port 
Hudson, was again opened to New Orleans 

SOUTHERN CONFEDERATE CUSTOM HOUSE REQUIREMENTS — 0. 
G. MEMMINGER, SEC. 

Among the amusing relics that have been preserved from 
the result of the late Civil War, none will afford comino^ gren- 
erations of Western boatmen more amusement than to read 
the following order issued by the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, — C. G. Memminger. 

As the Confederate line was drawn at Norfolk, on the Mis- 
sissippi, a point just below Cairo, all floating craft of every 
description were required to land there, and report to the Con- 
federate officer, who was always prepared to enforce the 
order. And as all masters of vessels were soon convinced 
that resistance to Confederate authority, when they got be- 
low the line, was not only useless but dangerous^ Norfolk 
soon became a point of great importance, although before 
the war and the location of the revenue officer there, it was 
hardly known even to river men as anything more than a 
wood-yard and a warehouse. 

The requirements, although much condensed, were as fol- 
lows: 

" Masters of flat-boats with coal in bulk intended for points 
as above, must give, under oath, to the collector at Norfolk,. 
a schedule in duplicate, setting forth name of boat, master, 
owner, where from, quality, quantity and value, and the fact 
of its being intended to be landed at places other than ports 
of entry or delivery. On these schedules the collector will 
estimate the duties payable; and on payment of the duties at 
Norfolk, will endorse on the original schedule (to be returned 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR DELIVERING FREIGHT. 145 

to the master) a certificate of payment, and a permit to land 
the goods. Should any portion of the goods arriving, as 
aforesaid, composed of dutiable or free articles, be destined 
to ports of entry or delivery, other than the port of final des- 
tination, permission may be given to land the same under the 
followino; regulations: 

*' The master shall present to the revenue oflScer at Norfolk 
a schedule in triplicate of the goods, describing them by their 
marks and numbers, number of packages and contents corres- 
ponding with the description in the general manifest of the 
vessel. Also stating the name of consignor and name of port 
of destination of the merchandise." 

" On the arrival of the vessel at an intermediate port, the 
master or commander is to present to the revenue officer the 
original schedule and will receive a general permit to land the 
goods upon their being duly entered and special landing per- 
mits issued, as now provided by law, for the landing of im- 
ported merchandise. 

Should the vessel out of business hours, or should circum- 
stances compel it, the master is permitted to deposit the goods 
either in a bonded warehouse or the custody of a revenue 
oflolcer, and shall receive a receipt containing all the particu- 
lars of the schedule and the original schedule shall be delivered 
to the person with whom the merchandise is deposited and 
by him delivered over to the collector or chief revenue officer 
as soon as the opening of the custom house will permit." 

On the arrival of the vessel at the port of final destination 
the master or commander shall make due entry at the custom 
house by delivering his original manifest together with all 
schedules enclosed, with the permits to land at intermediate 
ports, and the receipts of officers to whom any goods may have 
been delivered or any other document showing the disposition 
of any portion of the cargo, and the residue of the cargo shall 
be delivered on permits similar to those provided by law for 
the landing of imported merchandise. And the total cargo as 
shown by the original manifest, shall be delivered at this 
port, with the exception of such as shall be shown by docu- 
ments presented at the time of entry to have been landed 
elsewhere, under the penalties now provided by law, for dis- 
crepancies existing in the cargo of vessels arriving from foreign 
ports." 

In order to relieve vessels in this branch of importing trade 
from embarrassments, all goods imported therein, remaining 
unclaimed, or for which no entry shall be made or permit 
granted, within twenty-four hours after arrival, may be taken 

10 " 



146 GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

possession of by the collector, and deposited in a bonded ware- 
house on a general permit issued by him for that purpose." 
To afford further facilities in the event of vessels in this trade 
arriving at the port of final destination before the o[)ening, or 
after the closing of the custom house for the day and a neces- 
sity exists for discharging the cargo, it shall be lawful to 
deposit same, or any part of it, at the risk and expense of the 
vessel, on the levee, in charge of the inspection service, of the 
customs, or in any bonded warehouse in the port, such por- 
tion of said cargo as may be practicable. 

The master or commander of said vessel obtaining for the 
goods so deposited, a receipt from the inspection officer, on 
the levee, or the custom officer, in charge of the warehouse, 
which receipt shall be delivered to the collector of customs as 
soon thereafter as the business hours of the custom house of 
said port will permit. 

"Any goods, wares or merchandise imported as aforesaid 
maybe entered at the port of destination, on presentation to 
the collector of the bill or bills of lading, together with the 
other documents now required by law, on the entry of im- 
ported merchandise, before and in anticipation of the arrival 
of the importing vessel, and the necessary permits for the 
landing shall issue on the completion of these entries. 

And on the presentation of these permits to the surveyor, 
it shall be his duty and is hereby required of him (if the 
vessel by which the goods are imported has arrived at the 
port), to detail an inspector of the customs to superintend the 
landing of the merchandise as described therein, and such 
landing is authorized before entry has been made by the im- 
porting vessel at the custom house when the interest of com- 
merce or circumstances attending such arrival, shall render it 
necessary. 

It must, however, be distinctly understood that it is unlaw- 
ful to discharge any portion of the cargoes of these vessels, 
except under the inspection and supervision of the custom 
officer. 

CLEARANCES. 

Before the departure of any vessel navigating the Missis- 
sippi or others rivers, destinecl to a foreign port or place be- 
yond the southern limits of the Confederate States of 
America, the master or person having the charge thereof, 
shall deliver to the collector or chief officer of the customs at 
the port from which the vessel is about to depart, a manifest 
of the cargo on board the same, in the form and verified in 



SEIZURE OF SUGAR ON STR. EMPRESS. 147 

the manner now provided bylaw for vessels to a foreign port, 
and obtain from said collector a clearance as follows: " — 



<* CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.' 

Here follows the usual clearance certificate of vessels bound 
to a foreign port and then followo: — 

<' It shall be permitted to vessels engaged in navigation and 
commerce provided for by those regulations, after clearance, 
to take on board at the port of original departure, or any other 
place within the limits of the Confederacy, any goods, wares 
or merchandise, and to proceed therewith to a destination be- 
yond the Confederate limits on delivering to the collector or 
chief revenue officer at the port of Norfolk, on the Mississippi, 
or at the port nearest the frontier of the Confederacy, or any 
other river, a schedule describing all the goods on board — 
the quality, the value and destination, not declared in the 
manifest delivered at the time of clearance at the custom 
house of the original port of departure. The schedule thus 
received to be forwarded to the port from which the vessel 
may have originally cleared." 

Lastly, it is made the duty of the collector at the port of 
Norfolk, or at the other frontier ports, at which masters of 
outward-bound vessels are required to deliver schedules, to 
board all vessels bound to places beyond the Confederacy, in 
the same manner and at the hours heretofore provided for in- 
ward-bound vessels.'' 

It will be observed that these requirements are addressed 
to flat-boat masters with coal in bulk, etc. But there. was no 
distinction made between flat-boats, steamboats, or any other 
craft. All were required to land and to conform to the reg- 
ulations. But no great embarrassment or inconvenience was 
felt by the " regulations." For until Memphis was taken 
there was no business transacted by the river after the block- 
ade was established at Cairo. Even before that was officially 
announced, the Confederates established a sort of guenilla 
blockade at points along the river where they had troops sta- 
tioned and provisions were not very plenty. 

The writer calls to mind a case in point. In the early spring 
of 1861, returning from New Orleans with the steamer Em- 
press, and passing " Fort Wright," a temporary fortification 
a few miles above Memphis, we were brought to about day- 
light one morning by a shot across our bows from a cannon 
on shore, entirely obscured from view. As we were not at 
that early period accustomed to that kind of " hails " but 



148 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

little time was lost in responding to the hail. It was a cold, 
wet morning, and the officer and file of soldiers that stepped. 
on board as soon as the boat landed looked as if they had 
been on duty all night and that the easiest way to a compro- 
mise would be through the bar-room. I fortunately struck 
the key-note the first time, and sent for the barkeeper, and 
while it was a little early for me, I saw I was on the right 
road to an early release, and insisted that soldiers exposed to 
the inclemency of such nights were entitled to more than one 
drink, in which they freely concurred. Looking through our 
cargo, they saw nothing contraband or that would be useful^ 
to the Confederacy, except some hogsheads of sugar, marked 
Chicago. Nothing could have been more opportune ; rye or 
corn coffee without sugar was an abomination to a soldier of the 
Confederacy, and although, later on, it was often a luxury, 
but at that early date, with hogsheads of " Yankee " sugar ia 
sight it was no use talking, remonstrance was in vain, and the 
Chicago sugar rolled on shore and the Empress and her crew 
were permitted to pursue their winding way north, realizing 
for the first time that they were in the " enemy's country'* 
and hostilities had already commenced. We felt that we were 
fortunate in eettino; " through the lines," even with the loss 
of a few hogsheads of sugar. Other steamboats a day or two 
behind the Empress, were less fortunate and never returned 
to their home ports. Later on, the Empress made many nar- 
row escapes from masked batteries and guerrilla attacks. 



DIFFERENT STYLES OF ENGINES. 149 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE WATT & BOLTON ENGINE. 
LWritten for the N. O. Democrat.] 

THE Watt & Bolton engine as originally used carried 
steam at a pressure very little above the boiling point. 
The difference between them and the high pressure was in the 
use of a condenser. On the Western waters the early low- 
pressure boats carried steam very seldom exceeding 10 pounds 
to the inch, but gradually, by the introduction of stronger 
boilers, this amount was increased to 30 and 40 pounds. The 
first boat — the ISew Orleans — had but one cylinder, 34 
inches in diameter, and witliout a walkino; beam The engine 
was what is known as a steeple engine, vertical, with the pis- 
ton attached to a cross iron beam, something on the order of 
a saw mill engine. Many of the early boats had horizon- 
tal engines, low pressure, but single. The Caravan and Me- 
chanic of 1820 had high pressure engines with cross-heads. 
In 1824 the Hibernia and Philadelphia had also high pressure 
engines on the cross-head principle, but they were horizontal, 
and the pitmans and cross-heads ran under the boilers. All 
the early boats had their cabins on deck, and it was of import- 
uuce for the engine to occupy as little space as possible. The 
steeple engine took up but little more than the diameter 
of the cylinder. IS'one of the low pressure boats had two 
engines up to 1823 except the United States, whose cylinders 
built in England on the Watt & Bolton principle had walking 
beams. French's engine was the oscillating; the Comet had 
one of these engines. She was sold at Natchez, in 1813, and 
her machinery put in a saw mill. After the Comet, came the 
Enterprise, a larger boat, in 1814, and then the Dispatch. 
These three boats were built at Brownsville, Pa., by the 
Monongahela Steam Navigation Company, and had the oscil- 
lating engine. The Washington, built by Capt. H. M. Shreve, 
in 1816, had high pressure engine and four single flue boUers. 
Trevithick invented the high pressure engine, and inasmuch 
as there was a saving in the use of a condenser, and as high 
steam and expansion were also found good qualities, Wolf 
conceived the idea of combining the two qualities in the same 
engine and introduced the compound engine, the principle upon 
which the Hartupee engine is built. Oliver Evans never built 
any engines for Western boats, but his son George established 
a shop at Pittsburgh and built a few high-pressure engines. 



150 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



THE FIRST STEAMBOAT. 

** A friend has favored the Times- Democrat of New Orleans 
with a copy of a letter that appeared in th.e Louisiana Gazette 
of the twentieth of October, 1810, from which it would appear 
that this city can claim the proud distinction of having built 
the first steamboat, and that, too, three years before Fulton 
built the Clermont for the Hudson River. The letter was 
written by Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia, the man who built 
and patented the first high pressure engine, and read as fol- 
lows: — 

" In the year 1802 or 1803 Capt. Jas. McKeaver and Louis 
Valcourt, having been in Kentucky, saw a letter which I had 
written to a gentleman there explaining how my improve- 
ments would apply to steamboats in the water, and agreed to 
construct a steamboat to ply between New Orleans and 
Natchez. The captain superintended the buihling of the boat, 
and Mr. Valcourt came to Philadelphia in the fall of 1803 and 
had the engine built at my shop, while I was in Washington, 
and they met at New Orleans, fitted the engine to the boat, 
ready for experiment, but the water had left them high and 
dry, and not likely to rise again to float the boat in less than 
six months. They having expended about $15, 000, their money 
was exhausted and they were left in a sad dilemma. Mr. 
Wm. Donaldson, of New Orleans, furnished them with money 
on condition they would take the engine out of the boat and 
apply it to drive a saw mill. This they did and began to saw 
2,000 feet of boards in twelve hours, when incendiaries set 
fire to the mill and reduced it to ashes. They have both 
written to me frequently, that they were confident that the 
power of the engine was quite sufficient to have insured suc- 
cess in propelling the boat. The engine for this boat was 
only nine inches in diameter, the stroke of the piston three 
feet. I believe my princij)le is the only one suitable for pro- 
pelling boats up the Mississippi. This engine is ten times 
more powerful than the best English engine of equal dimen- 
sions. It has no equal, excepting the one I have since erected 
at Pittsburgh for Mr. Owen Evans; the cylinder is 9 feet 2-10 
inches in diameter and 3 feet 2 inches stroke, and will grind 
480 bushels of wheat in twenty-four hours. 

Oliver Evans. 

Note. — This engine was the first one used in the territory 
of Louisiana. The boiler consisted of cylinders of sheet iron, 
3 feet 6 inches in diameter, 8 feet long, with flues. 



**bArE STEAMBOATS.'* 151 



OLIVER EVANS ON THE STEAM ENGINE, 

[From Niles' Register, Vol. 13, 1817.1 

** Citizens attend. Surel}^ the sum of death and misery, 
occasioned by the explosion of the boilers of steam engines 
on the boats is now enough to arrest your attention, if you 
ever intend to travel on steamboats. This discovery has re- 
cently been so openly attacked, that the inventor is compelled 
to defend it. 

Therefore, I announce that more than forty years ago, I 
discovered the principles and afterwards the means of apply- 
ing the great and advantageous principle in nature of the 
rapid increase of the elaslic ponier of steam, by geometrical 
progression and by the small increase of heat in the water by 
arithmetical progression, and thereby lessen the consumption 
of fuel, the size and weight of tbe steam engine to suit for 
steamboats. 

For double heat in the water produces 128 times the power, 
and double force consumed produces sixteen times the effect. 
I have since got into operation seventy or eighty steam engines 
constructed on the unimitable and eternal principles and laws 
of nature, so combined and arranged that it is nearly beyond 
the art of man, either by neglect, design, ignorance or malice, 
to explode them by the elastic power of steam. He can only 
make them yield to the inevitable power, in a small degree, so 
as to let the power escape until the steam extinguishes the fire, 
and the danger ceases, by the regular operation of the engine 
itself. No accident has ever happened with any of my en- 
gines to do any injury." 

I published in 1805 a laborious and difficult work (pro- 
duced by long intense study) on this new and abtruse subject, 
describing and demonstrating those principles and directing 
their application to mills, and also to boats, by means of the 
very paddle wheels, since adopted, which mode of application 
I had conceived, or understood, well, for about thirty years 
before. 

To this book I now refer, '* The Young Steam Engineer's 
Guide." It is to be seen in the Philadelphia library. 

My cylindric boilers, 15 inches in diameter with the ends 
closed, with half globes, will hold about 1,300 pressure to the 
inch area of its inner surface. 

If twenty inches diameter, about 1,000 lbs., if thirty inches 
about 700, and if sixty inches diameter, they will bear about 
350 lbs. when constructed with wrought iron sheets, one quar- 



152 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ter of an inch thick, thoroughly riveted together, and that 
with as much safety as any other form will bear, ten pounda 
to the inch. Double diameters will hold but half the power. 
But, further in my cylindric boilers the stress to make them 
yield, is equal in every part, and because it is impossible for 
any workmen to construct any boiler to be equal in strength, 
in all its parts, but that some part, or rivet, of a thousand, 
will be weaker than the rest, and yield first by a small open- 
ing, to let the power escape inside the furnace, and steam 
enough to extinguish the fire. Thus the operation of the 
engine itself stops all danger." 

" Then we may safely conclude, and say, that it has been 
proved in practice that these boilers cannot be exploded to do any 
serious injury. Not in such a degree, as to force through the 
furnace wall of a mill, and much less to force through the 
sheet iron covering of the boiler in the steamboat x^tna, by 
the elastic power of them. I defy contradiction or any person 
to explode one of my boilers by steam." 

CRITICISIMS on OLIVER EVANS' 

theory of non-explosion of the cylinder steam boiler! 

While he is very positive that his boilers can not be ex- 
ploded by the elastic power of steam, later experiences &how 
that he w^as sadly mistaken. 

Without knowing; the kind or character of his furnace it is 
impossible to say what would be the effect of a leak in the 
boiler. The assertion he makes that a leak would extinguish 
the fire and thus make an explosion impossible would not hold 
good in more modern experience. If a weak place in the 
boiler sheet, or an imperfect rivet was always on the bottom 
of the boiler, or on the part exposed directly to the fire, what 
he anticipated would sometimes occur. But unfortunately 
for his theory, and for our experience, cylinder boilers have 
not been so considerate as to give timely warning before ex- 
ploding in many instances. 

Still the name of Oliver Evans will long be remembered 
among the foremost of the enterprising and practical engi- 
neers of the age in Avhich he lived, and probably no one did 
more to develop the power of steam and make it practical 
than did Oliver Evans. No inventor in any age excelled Mr. 
Evans in his efforts before Congress and the public at large, 
to secure recognition and pecuniary assistance to enable him 
to extend his experiments and to advance th€ cause and pro- 
mote the science of steam engineering. 



OBJECTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE EXPEDITION. 153 

He predicted in 1794, that steam wagons would travel from 
Philadelphia to Boston in one day, and that the man was 
then living that would see the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers 
<2rossed with steamboats. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

[ Niles' Register, Vol. 16, 1819.] 

THE Yellow Stone Expedition is to be one of the most 
respectable and imposing charncter. 
It seems probable that 900 or 1,000 men will be stationed at 
the upper posts on the Missouri. A large steamboat has 
been launched to supply them with stores, etc., and a small 
boat called the " Western Engineer," built by the United 
States, to draw only nineteen inches water with all her ma- 
chinery, etc., on board, is ready at Pittsburgh, if not already 
left, to take out Maj Long and an exploring party consisting 
of se\'>Bral learned gentlemen whose business is to collect infor- 
mation of all things relating to the great river Missouri, and 
the parts adjacent. 

THE western engineer, 

As described in iV^7es' Register, Vol. 16, while laying at the land- 
ing in St. Louis, previous to her departure on the " Yellow- 
stone Expedition," 1819 : — 

" The Western Engineer is moored at the landing at the 
upper part of the city of St. Louis, where she lies waiting for 
orders. In passing the Independence and the St. Louis, then 
at anchor before the town, she was saluted by these vessels. 

The bow of this vessel exhibits the form of a huge serpent, 
black and scaly, rising out of the water from under the boat, 
his head as high as the deck, darting forward, his mouth open, 
vomiting smoke, and apparently carrying the boat on his back. 
From under the boat at its stern issues a stream of foaming 
water, dashing violently along. All the machinery is hid. 
Three small brass field-pieces mounted on wheel carriages stand 
on the deck. The boat is ascending the rapid stream at the rate 
of three miles an hour. Neither wind nor human hands are 
seen to help her and to the eye of ignorance the illusion 
is complete that a monster carries on his back smoking 



154 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

with fatiiiue and lashing the waves with violent motion. Her 
equipment is at once calculated to awe and to attract the 
Bavage. Objects pleasing and terrifying are at once before 
him — artillery, the flag of the Republic, portraits of white 
men and an Indian shaking hands, the calumet of peace, the 
sword through the apparent monster with a painted vessel on 
his back, the sides gaping with port-holes and bristling with 
guns — taken altogether and without intelligence of her com- 
position or design, it would require a daring savage to ap- 
proach and accost her with Hamlet's speech: — 

•' Be thou a spirit of health, or soblin damned, 
Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell? 
Be tiiy intents wicked, or charitable? 
Thou comest in such questionable shape, 
That I will speak with thee." 

THE LONGEST BOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI STEAMBOAT MISSOURI. 

Probably no steamboat owned at St. Louis has ever created 
more curiosity in the minds of its citizens than did the " Big 
Misssouri " on her arrival at the wharf in April 1841. Her 
size was phenomenal and her fame had so far preceded her 
arrival, that everybody was on the qui vive to see her. She 
was 233 feet long, which was longer than any previous boat, 
30 feet beam, 8 1-2 feet hold, 59 feet over all. She drew 
5 1-2 feet light, wheels 32 feet diameter with 12 feet buckets, 
cylinders 26 inches, 12 feet stroke, two engines and seven 42 
inch boilers, her capacity was 600 tons. She was built at 
Pittsburgh under the direction of Capt. J. C. Swan, her com- 
mander, and cost $45,000. There is no public record of her 
performance, as she was burned at the whart in August of the 
!-ame year. But there is no doubt if she had been given a fair 
chance, she would have made the trip from New Orleans to 
St. Louis about as soon as it was made by the " J. M. White " 
three years later. 

MAMMOTH STEAMBOAT. 

The following extract taken from the N'eiv Orleanfi Thnes- 
Deriiocrat will show the difference in views between now and 
then : — 

A MAMMOTH STEAMBOAT BUILT SIXTY-FIVE TEARS AGO. 

The steamboat LTnited States was built at Jeffersonville, 
Ind., 1819; sole owner, Edmund Forstall of New Orleans; 
Samuel Hart, master; measures 645 82-95 tons; enrolled at 



FIRST STEAMBOAT UNITED STATES A FAILURE. 155 

New Orleans, t/anuary, 1821. Mr. Vandusen, a ship builder 
of New York, contracted to build this boat, and he brought out 
from New York fifty mechanics and ship carpenters to do the 
work, as there were very few shij? carpenters in the West at 
that period. After finishing the hull and upper works she was 
floated or worked by sweeps to New Orleans for the purpose 
of receiving her machinery in 1820, The engine was built in 
England upon the Watt and Boulton plan of low pressure en- 
gine with walking beam. Her planking and timbers were of 
immense thickness, twenty inches of solid wall so as to make 
her snag proof. She made several voyages between New 
Orleans and Louisville, but was of so heavy draft and slow 
speed that she did not prove a success. In 1823, while lying 
up at Withers' saw mill, just above the city, the batture caved 
in and sunk her. There is only one steamboat man living in 
this city, Capt. Louis Choat, who remembers this boat, as he 
was here at the time she was lost ; he says sh^ was the wonder 
of the Western world, and was thought to be the larg-est 
steamboat in the world. Thirteen years time elapsed before 
another steamboat of so great a tonnage was built in 1832. 

Old Timer. 

steamboat enterprise, 1814. 

The Enterprise was the fourth boat built, and though only 
a small boat of 75 tons was a very remarkable one in many 
respects. She made two trips in the summer of 1814 be- 
tween Brownsville and Louisville, and in December of that year 
came to New Orleans with a load of ordnance stores, and on 
arrival was pressed into service by Gen. Jackson. She after- 
wards made five trips to the Balize towing vessels, made a trip 
to the rapids of Red River, and ran to Natchez. The distance 
to Natchez was then called 313 miles; this distance she used 
to make without the use of sails in four days. In August of 
1815 she went to Pittsburgh in 54 days, 20 days of which time 
was consumed in handling freight, all of which was considered 
a very remarkable trip. In 1812 Livingston and Fulton ob- 
tained from the authorities of this State a grant or charter for 
the exclusive navigation of the waters of the Mississippi River 
for a period of 20 years. As the Enterprise was built by 
other parties, she was seized while here at the instance of Liv- 
ingston and Fulton, who claimed that they alone had the right 
to navigate the Mississippi River by steam and that she was 
infrino-ing; on their rights and violating; the law. She was 
bonded out and the case carried to the Supreme Court. After 



156 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

a delay of three years the court decided that in accordance 
with the constitution of the United States the navigation of 
the Mississippi river was open and free to all the people of 
the United States and for all time to come, and declared that 
the ffrantins of exclusive i)rivileo;es was of no effect and null 
and void. VVe have said that the Enterprise was a remarkable 
boat; so she was, for the reason that she was the first boat to 
discard the use of sails and depend upon steam alone. She 
was the first steamer that went to the mouth of the river, the 
first to engage in the towage business, the first that ever went 
to Red River, the first to be seized by i)rocess of law and to give 
bond, and last but not least, was the first steamboat commanded 
by Capt. H. M. Shreve, a man whose name will be remembered 
as long as Fulton's, who built the first high pressure eagine, who 
used cranks, who invented the cam shutoff, suggested flues in 
boilers, planned and built the first snagboat, removed the great 
Red River raf t *and opened that river to navigation, and after 
whom the town of Shreveport is named. By way of coinci- 
dence it is Avorthy of remark that the first boat to go up Red 
River after the removal of the raft was a boat called the En- 
terprise. Previous to that date keel-boats were the means of 
transportation, passing round the raft by the way of Loggy 
])ayou into Lake Bisteneau, Willow chute and Red chute, 
crossing into Twelve-Mile bayou, from thence into Soda lake 
and Black and Red bayous to Fort Towson, the then head of 
navigation. 

During the year 1821 the following amount of tonnage from 
foreign countries was entered: American, 51,458 tons; Brit- 
ish, f6, 21(5; French, 1,186; Spanish, 551; Dutch, 363; Han- 
seatic, 2,139; Danish, 1,962; Swedish, 552; Hanoverian, 
288; a total of 74,742 tons. 

In the year ending October 1, 1817, 1,500 flat-boats and 500 
barges came dowu the Mississippi to this city loaded with pro- 
duce. 

During the year 1821, 287 steamboats arrived, 174 barges 
and keel-boats, and 441 flat-boats; the levee duty on which 
amounted to $8,272. Each loaded flat-boat paid a duty of $6; 
boats or barges, 70 feet or more in length, $10; less than 70 
feet, $3. Steamboats pay levee duty according to their ton- 
nage, viz: 100 tons and under, $6 ; from 100 to 150, $9; 150 
to 200, $12; 200 to 250, $15; 250 to 300, $18; 300 to 350, 
$20; 350 to 400, $22; 400 to 450, $24; 450 to 500, $26; 500 
to 550, $28; and above 600 tons, $30. 

Up to 1822, 83 steam vessels had arrived at the landing, the 
.smallest ot which was the General Harrison, 28 tons; the larg- 



RECEirTS OF STEAMBOATS AND PRODUCE IN N. O. IN 1821. 157 

est, the United States, 645 ton?. Among this number is in- 
cluded the steam schooner Fidelity, of 139 tons, and the 
steamship Robert Fulton, of 530 tons. 

The receipts of cotton for the year 1821 amounted to 191,- 
216 bales, molasses 1,000,000 gallons, sugar 20,000 hogsheads, 
rice 12,000 barrels, tobacco 28,000 hogsheads. 

New Levee street was the front street in 1822, and the in- 
side edge of the wharf was 60 feet from the stores, erected on 
the swamp side of the street. Below Canal street this same 
street w^as called Levee street. 

The population of the city in 1822 was 40,000. 

The width of the I'iver opposite this city was placed at 2,880 
feet; depth 26 fathoms. 

The descent of the land from the river to the lake was 7^ 
feet. 

The garrison where Foi't St. Philip now stands w^as founded 
May 28, 1700 ; 17 years later this city was laid out and named. 
In 1788 the city contained 1,100 houses, but a tire in March of 
that year consumed 900 of them. 

THE SECOND STEAMBOAT ** NEW ORLEANS." 

In the Louisiana Gazette of April 7, 1816, is this reference 
to the old and new steamers New Orleans, or number one and 
two. 

"The new steamboat New Orleans, lately built at Pittsburgh 
to replace a steamboat of the same name sunk and destroyed 
in 1814." She has the machinery of the old boat, and it will 
be considerable time before she can be fit for service." 

Id the same paper, of July 26, 1816, is this notice, "Yes 
terday morning the new steamboat New Orleans, Captain 
Gale, went off from the levee very handsomely on her first 
tiip to Natchez, a great numbei of lady passengers on board. 
The New Orleans is a very handsome boat." 

STEAMER " VESUVIUS." 

The Louisiana Gazette of June 12, 1812, contains this ad- 
vertisement. 

" FOR SHIPPINGPORT. 

" The elegant new steamboat Vesuvius will be ready to re- 
ceive freight for shipping port in a few days and will sail with 
all possible dispatch. The gentlemen who have already left 
their names will please call and secure their berths, as none- 
will be retained after Sunday 22d. — Bi/ order of the Directors 
Peter F. Ogdon, President.'^ 



158 GOULD'S PIISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

In au issue of that paper of July 181G, is the following an- 
nouncement: 

"The steamboat ' Vesuvius ' burned at Natchez. She was 
to have set out for her place of destination on Sunday morn- 
ing'. 

In the afternoon of Saturday Captain De Hart raised steam 
and started up the river. 

The machinery did not work well, and while examining: the 
cause she was discovered to be on fire, and the crew had to 
abandon her. She floated down the current in a majestic blaze. 
This is an immense public calamity. 

The estimated loss of boat and cargo is $200,000." 

DIFFERENT VERSIONS NOT TANTOLOGY. 



While these desultory scraps of history are by no means sat- 
isfactory, they are undoul)tedly reliable as far as they go, and 
serve to illustrate to some extent the situation and the feelinof 
created by the introduction of steam in navigation. 

By collating the items, or scraps of history as they are in- 
terspersed through these pages, a general knowledge may be 
arrived at, although if chronologically arranged would be 
more enjoyable, but that seems difficult to do with the meager 
records there is to draw from. This will be apparent from 
the discrepanc}^ in the records often ; and without reflection, 
may look like tautology, and might be obviated to some extent 
by slight changes in the text. But as it is not hni^ortant it is 
thought best to preserve the text in the main, and quote the 
history as found. 

STEAMBOAT ARRIVALS IN NEW ORLEANS. 

[From a New Orleans paper.] 
THE BEGINNING. 

*< In 1S04 the amount of tonnage to this city was very small. 
Commerce was carried only by means of flat-^oats and barges. 
There seems to have been no record kept of these arrivals 
until the year 1812. From 1812 to 1824 the record gives the 
number of arrivals but not the tonnage. They increased 
rapidly, however, as quantities of sugar and molasses were 
shipped to the Ohio. This was along andtedious voyage indeed, 
as the boats were propelled almost entirely by hand. As a 
general thing, though, these boats were sold here for their 
lumber, and the owners, with the proceeds of their venture in 
their pockets, would cross the lake, and, striking the Natchez 



AARON burr's FLEET SURRENDERED. 159 

trail, Mould start a-foot for their homes 1,000 miles away. 
In 1812 a new era in transportation appeared. This year the 
fir^;t steamboat, the New Orleans, arrived at our landing. She 
was a low pressure boat of 371 tons. 

In 1814 the second boat, the Vesuvius, of 340 tons, arrived 
and in 1815 the Enterprise, of 100 tons, the first boat to make 
the return trip to Pittsburiih, and which took her fifty-four 
days to accomplish. The Vesuvius also made a trip to Louis- 
ville this year. The fourth boat, the Etna, of 3(50 tons, arrived 
here in 1815. In 181 fi there arrived the Dispatch of 90 tons, 
the Washington of 412 tons, the Franklin of 131 tons, and 
the Constitution of 112 tons. The Washington was the first 
boat to be called fast. In 1817 there arrived the Harriet of 
54 tons, Buffalo of 249 tons, Kentucky of 112 tons, James 
Monroe 140 tons, James >Madison 148 tons, Vesta 203 tons, 
and the Gov. Shelby 100 tons. 

In 1818 the Gen. Jackson 142 tons, Pike 51 tons, Cincinnati 
157 tons. Napoleon 315 tons, Eagle 118 tons, Newport 59 tons, 
Heclal24 tons, Johnson 140 tons. Exchange 212 tons, riames 
Ross 2(i9 tons, Ramapo 146 tons, Tammarlane 214 tons, Mays- 
ville 209 tons, Maid of Orleans 193 tons, a total for the year of 14 
new boats, with an aggregate tonnage of 2,347 tons. In 1819 
there arrived the Ohio, Volcano, Alabama, Rifleman, Rising 
States, St. Louis, Paragon, Mobile, Gen. Clark. Yankee, aver- 
asinST 150 tons each. In 1820 the Feliciana, Frankfort, Car of 
Commerce, Vulcan, Gen. Roberts, Tennessee, Comet, Hornet, 
United States, Columbus, Gen. Green, Missouri, Elizabeth, 
Beaver Rapids, Fayette, Cumberland, Arkansas, and the In- 
dependence, nineteen boats, whose tonnage aggregated 2,850 
tons. In 1821 there arrived the Manhattan, Mars, Velocipede, 
Olive Branch, Hero, Dolphin, Osage, Telegraph, Rapides, 
Post Boy, Alexandria, Courier, Columbus, President, Rocket, 
Gen. Green, Elizabeth, seventeen boats, tonnage 2,550 tons. 
In 1822, Henry Clay, Rifleman, Neptune, Favorite, Expedi- 
tion, Mandan, Nashville, Providence, Teche, Robt. Thomp- 
son, Indiana, eleven boats, 1,540 tons; and in 1822, the Leo 
nard, Calhoun, Gen. Pike, Congress, Hope, Fidelity and the 
Robt. Ray, 7 boats with a total tonnage of 1,050 tons. 

Colonel Aaron Burr's Expedition loith a fleet of Flat-hoats 
down the Blississippi River in 1807 , with the intention of 
invading Mexico, as he had a large force of armed men with 
liim. 

1807. Early in January one of the coldest winters ever 
known in Misi^issippi , Col. Burr, with nine boats arrived at 
the mouth of Bayou Pierre and tied up on the western or 



16Q Gould's history of river navigation. 

Louisiana shore. The Governor issued an order to the mili- 
tary authorities to arrest Col. Burr and his fleet, as he was 
charged with high treason. Lieutenant Patterson, of the mili- 
tia, immediately marched to the point where Colonel Burr's 
fleet was moored and demanded a surrender of men and boats. 
The terms were accepted and he surrendered to the civil author- 
ities of Mississippi. In addition to the military force th^ Gov- 
ernor had induced Commander Shaw, in command of the naval 
forces at New Orleans, to concentrate the most of his vessels 
at Natchez to oppose the tremendous flotilla of Col. Burr re- 
ported to be coming down the river. 

The following armed vessels were anchored in the Mississ- 
ippi opposite Natchez, January, 1<S()7. 

.Schooner Revenge, 12 guns. Ketch Etna, 14 guns. 

Ketch Vesuvius, 14 guns. Gunboat No. 11, 2 guns. 

Gunboat 12, 2 guns. Gunboat 13, 2 guns. 

Gunboat 14, 2 guns. Gun Barge Victory, 2 guns. 

Note. — This was probably the first fleet of United States 
war vessels that ever ■ ascended the Mississippi River as 
high up as Natchez. 

extracts from claiborn's history, 
new madrid earthquake, 1811. 

•*An account of the great earthquake at New Madrid on the 
Mississippi River. By Capt. John Davis, of Natchez, Missis- 
sippi. We arrived at night on the 15th December, 1811, at 
Island 25, and on the Uith at 2 a. m., we were surprised by 
the greatest commotion of the boat, which I could compare to 
nothing more than of a team of horses running away with a 
wagon over the most rocky road in our part of the country. 
There were forty flat-boats, barges and keel-boats in the com- 
pany, and each thought his boat adrift and running over the 
sawyers; but a man on board a boat lashed to us hinted it to 
be an earthquake. An old navigator of the river just above, 
hailed us and said it was occasioned by the banks falling in. 
We were under a bluff bank which immediately cast off and 
fell in about a quarter of a mile, which drew us into the cur- 
rent on the right side of the island, where we staid till day; 
but in the meantime, we experienced fifty partial shocks, 
which shook our boat with great agitation. At 7 o'clock, 
we heard a tremendous distant noise, and in a few seconds 
the boats, island and main land became perfectly convulsed, 
the trees twisted and lashed together, the earth in all quar-, 



EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN 1811. 161 

ters Avas sinking, and the water issued fi-om the eenter of 
Ishmd '25, just on our left, and came rushing down its side in 
torrents. The shocks at this time became more frequent, 
one every fifteen minutes. The water rose from the first 
shock till about 8 o'clock that day eight feet perpendicular, 
and the current ran seven or eight miles an hour, as we ran 
from Island 25 and landed on Flower Island, a distance of 
thirty-five miles in five hours and twenty-five minutes. The 
logs, which had sprung up from the bottom of the river, were 
so thick that it appeared almost impossible for a boat to find 
u passage. There Avcre a large number of boats sunk and 
destroyed, among them two boats of Mr. Jas. Atwell, of 
Kentucky. The logs and roots we passed had the sand and 
mud on them, which probably for many years lay in the 
bottom of the river, and which gave the appcnrance of tim- 
bered fields. We experienced shocks of earthquake for eight 
days. The whole country from the mouth of the Ohio to the 
White River country felt the terrible effects of this earth- 
quake for many years — as many persons, houses and cattle 
were drowned or swallowed uj) by the ojicning of the earth. 
There were also several islands that disappeared, and many 
flat-boats and barges were wrecked. The town of New 
Madrid was a complete wreck and many of the people lost 
their lives. Our barge escaped and we arrived at Natchez, 
Jan. 5th. 1812. 

Note. — This was the same earthquake that the first steam- 
boat New Orleans encountered on her first voyage down the 
Mississippi." 

11 



162 Gould's history of river navigation. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

[From Floyd's S. B. Directory, 185fi.] 

^t-pROM the year 1786 to 1811, the only regular mode of 
-L transportation on the Western rivers was such as we 
have described in the preceding article. The entire commerce 
of those rivers was transacted by means of those clumsy con- 
trivances called barges and tiat-boats, which consumed three 
or four months in making the trip from New Orleans to' Louis- 
ville, a trip which is now made by steam power in live or six 
days, and has been made in a liitle over four. The price of 
pasage from New Orleans to Pittsburgh was then $160; 
freight $6.75 per hundred pounds. The introduction of steam 
has reduced the price of passage between these two cities to 
thirty dollars, and merchandise is carried the whole dis- 
tance for a price which may be regarded as merely nominal. 
Besides this great saving of time and money effected by steam 
navigation on these waters, the comparative safety of steam 
conveyance is an item which especially deserves our notice. 
Before the steam dispensation began, travelers and merchants 
were obliged to trust their lives or property to the bargemen, 
many of whom were suspected, with very good reason, to be 
in confederacy with the land robbers who infested the shores 
of the Ohio, and the pirates who resorted to the islands of the 
the Mississippi. These particulars being understood, we are 
prepared to estimate the value and importance of the services 
which the steam-engine has rendered to the commerce and 
prosperit}^ of the Western States. 

The earliest account we have of the navigation of the Mis- 
sissippi, refers to a period more than three hundred years ago, 
when Ferdinand De Soto, the first discoverer of that might}'- 
stream, was engaged in his famous and fantastic exploring ex- 
pedition in search of " the fountain of youth." About one 
hundred years Iater,^Father Joliet, a Jesuit ambassador and 
envoy from France, againdisturbed these waters, by launching 
on their bosom a bark canoe which had been transported by 
his fellow adventurers on their shoulders across the territory 
between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. 

The first vessel ever built on the waters of the West was the 
brig Dean, which derived her name from her builder and 
original proprietor. She was launched at the present site of 
Alleghany city, near Pittsburgh, in 1806. She afterwards 
made a voyage from Pittsburgh to the Mediterranean. 



FIRST VESSELS BUILT ON THE OHIO. 163 

After the purchase of Louisiana from Napoleon, in 1803, 
•some Eastern capitalists sent out mechanics, and built several 
ships on the Oliio. In 1<S05, Jonas Spoir built the ship 
*' Scott" on the Kentucky River, twenty miles above Frank- 
fort, and near the residence of that celebrated Western pio- 
neer, General Charles Scott. This ship was the first that ever 
made a successful trip to the falls of the Ohio. She remained 
there for several months before the occurrence of a rise in the 
river sufficient to float her over. In the meantime, two other 
vessels from Pittsburgh, built by James Berthone & Co., had 
arrived at the Falls, and in the attempt to get over, the longest 
one was sunk, and soon after torn to pieces by the violence 
of the current. Tiiis accident was so discourajfinir that no 
further attempts at ship-building were made on the Ohio. 

In 1811, Messrs. Fulton and Livingston, havino; established 
a ship-yard at Pittsburgh for the purpose of introducing steam 
navigation on the Western waters, built an experimental boat 
for this service; and this was the first steamboat that ever 
Hoated on the Western rivers. It was furnished with a pro- 
pelling wheel at the stern, and two masts; for Mr. Fulton be- 
lieved, at that time, that the occasional use of sails weuld be 
indispensable. This first Western steamboat was called the 
Orleans. Her capacity was one hundred tons. In the winter 
of 1812, she made her first trip from Pittsburgh to New Or- 
leans in 14 clays. She continued to make regular trips be- 
tween New Orleans and Natchez, until the fourteenth day of 
July, 1814, when she was wrecked near Baton Rouge, on her 
upward-bound passage b}' striking a snag." 

" The first ai)pearance of the vessel on the Ohio River pro- 
duced, as the reader may supi)ose, not a little excitement and 
admiration. A steamboat, at that day, was to common ob- 
servers, almost as great a wonder as a flying angel would be 
at present. The banks of the river, in some places, were 
thronged with spectators, gazing in speechless astonishment 
at the puffing and smoking phenomenon. The average speed 
of this boat was only about three miles per hour. Before her 
ability to move through the waters without the assistance of 
sails or oars had been fully exemplified, comparatively few per- 
sons believed that she could possibly be made to answer any 
purpose of real utility. In fact, she made several voyages 
before the general prejudice beiran to subside, and for some 
months, many of the river merchants preferred the old mode 
of transportation, with all its risks, delays, and extra expense, 
rather than make use of such a contrivance as a steamboat, 
which to their apprehension, appeared too marvelous, and 



164 Gould's history of river navigation. 

miraculous for the busines-i of everv-day life. How slow are 
the masses of mankiud to adopt improvement, even when they 
aj)pear to be most obvious and unquestionable. 

The second steamboat of the West was a diminutive vessel 
called the " Comet." She was rated at twenty-tive tons. 
Her machinery was on a phm for which French had obtained 
a patent in 1809. She went to Louisville in the summer of 
1813, and descended to New Orleans in the spring of 1814. 
She afterwards made two voyages to Natchez, and was then 
sold, taken to pieces, and the engine was put ud in a cotton 
factory. 

The Vesuvius is the next in this record. She was built by 
Mr. Fulton, at Pittsburgh, for a company, the several mem- 
bers of which resided at New York, Philadelphia, and New 
Orleans. She sailed under the command of Capt. Frank 
Ogden, for New Orleans, in the spring of 1814. From New 
Orleans she started for Louisville in July of the same year, 
but was grounded on a sand-bar, seven hundr'^d miles up the^ 
Mississippi, where she remained until the 3rd of December 
following, when, being floated off by the tide, she returned to 
New Orleans. In ISLo-lB, she made regular trips for sev- 
eral months, from New Orleans to Natchez, under the com- 
mand of Captain Clement. This gentleman was soon after 
succeeded by Capt. John de Hart, and while approaching^ 
New Orleans with a valuable cargo on board, she took fire 
and burned to the water's edge. After being submerged for 
several mouths, her hulk w-as raised and refitted. She was 
afterwards in the Louisville trade, and was condemned in 
1819. 

The Enterprise was No. 4 of the Western steamboat series. 
She was built at Brownsville, Pa., by D. French, under his 
patent, and was owned by several residents of that place. The 
Enterprise was a small boat of seventy-five tons. She made 
two voyages to Louisville in the summer of 1814, under the 
command of Captain J. Gregg. On the first of December, in 
the same year, she conveyed a cargo of ordnance stores from 
Pittsburgh to New Orleans. While at the last named port, 
she was pressed into service by General Jackson. Her own- 
ers were afterwards remunerated by the United States gov- 
ernment. When engaged in the public service, she was emi- 
nently useful in transporting troops, arms and ammunition to 
the seat of war. She left is^ew Orleans for Pittsburgh on the 
6th of May, 1815, and reached Louisville after a passage of 
twenty-five daj^s, thus completing the first steamboat voyage 
ever made from New Orleans to Louisville. But at the time 



CAPTAIN SHREVE AND THE STEAMBOAT WASHINGTON. 165 

the Enterprise made this trip, the water was so high that the 
banks in many places were overflowed ; consequently there 
was no current. The Enterprise was enabled to make her 
^ay up without much difficulty, by running through the 
*'cut-offs," and over inundated fields, in still water. In 
view of these favorable circumstances, the experiment was 
not satisfactory, the public being still in doubt whether a 
steamboat could ascend the Mississippi when that river was 
confined within its banks, and the current as rapid as it gen- 
-erally is. 

Such was the state of public opinion when the steamboat 
Washington commenced her career. This vessel, the fourth 
in the catalogue of Western steamboats, was constructed un- 
der the personal superintendence and direction of Captc 
Henry M. Shreve. The hull was built at Wheeling, Va., 
4ind the engines were made at Brownsville, Pa. The entire 
construction of the boat comprised various innovations, which 
were suirgested by the ingenuity and experience of Capt. 
8hreve. The Washington was the first " two-decker " on the 
Western waters. The cabin was placed between the decks. 
It had been the general practice for steamboats to carry their 
boilers in the hold; in this particular Capt. Shreve made a 
new arrangement by placing the boilers of the Washington on 
deck; and this plan was such an obvious improvement, that 
all the steamboats on those waters retain it to the present 
day. The engines constructed under Fulton's patent had up- 
right and stationary cylinders. In French's engines vibrating 
cylinders were used. Shreve caused the cylinders of the 
Washington to be placed in a horizontal position, and gave 
the vibration to the pitman. Fulton and French used single 
low-pressure engines, with cranks at right angles ; and this 
was the first engine of that kind ever used on Western waters. 
Mr. David Prentice had previously used cam wheels for 
working the valves of the cylinder; Capt. Shreve added his 
great invention to the cam cut-off, with flues to the boilers, 
by which three-fifths of the fuel were saved. These improve- 
ments originated with Capt. Shreve. 

On the 24th day of September, 1816, the Washington 
passed over the Falls of Ohio, on her first trip to New Orleans 
a,nd returned to Louisville, in November following. While at 
New Orleans the ingenuity of her construction excited the ad- 
miration of the most intelligent citizens of that place. Ed- 
ward Livingston, after a critical examination of the boat and 
her machinery, remarked to Capt. Shreve, " You deserve 
well of your country, young man ; but we (referring to Ful- 



IGG Gould's history of river navigation. 

ton and Livingston monopoly) shall be compelled to beat 
you (in the courts), if we can." 

An accumulation of ice in the Ohio compelled the Wash- 
ino;ton to remain at the Falls until March 12th, 1817. On. 
that day she commenced her second voyage to New Orleans. 
She accomplished this trip and returned to Shippingsi)ort, at 
the foot of the falls, in forty-one days. The ascending voy- 
age was made in twenty-five days, and from this vo3^age all 
historians date the commencement of steam navigation in the 
Mississi})pi valley. It was now practically demonstrated to- 
the satisfaction of the public in general, that steamboats could 
ascend this river in less than one-fourth the time which the 
barges and keel-boats had required for the same purpose. 
This feat of the Washington produced almost as much popu- 
lar excitement and exultation in that region as the battle of 
New Orleans. The citizens of Louisville gave a public dinner 
to Capt. 8hreve, at which he predicted that the time would 
come when the trip from New Orleans to Louisville would be 
made in ten days. Although this may have been regarded as 
a boastful declaration at that time, the prediction has been 
more than fultilled; for in 1853 the trip was made in four 
days and nine hours. 

After that memorable voyage of the Washington all doubt* 
and prejudices in reference to steam navigation were re- 
moved. Ship-yards began to be established in every locality, 
and the business of steamboat building was vigorously prose- 
cuted. But a new obstacle now presented itself, wliich, for a 
time, threatened to give an effectual check to the spirit of en- 
terprise and progression which had just been developed. We 
refer to the claims made by Mi . Fulton and Livingston to 
the exclusive right of steamboat navigation on the rivers of 
the United States. This claim being resisted by Capt. Shreve, 
the Washington was attached at New Orleans, and taken pos- 
session of by the sheriff. When the case came for adjudica- 
tion before the District Court of Louisiana, that tribunal 
promptly negatived the exclusive privileges claimed by Liv- 
ington jjiiid Fulton, which were decided to be unconstitutional. 
The monopoly claims of Livingston and Fulton were finally 
withdrawn in 1819, and the last restiaint on the steamboat 
navigation of the Western rivers was Ihus removed, leaving^ 
Western enterprise and energy at full liberty to carry on the 
great work of improvement. This work has been so progres- 
sive that, at the present time, no less than eight hundred 
steamboats are in constant o{)eration on the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi and their tributaries, and this mode of navigation has 



VARIOUS STYLES OF STEAM ENGINES. 167 

there been carried to a degree of perfection unrivaled in any 
other part of the worJd." 

STEAMBOAT ENGINES FROM 1812 TO 1826. 

By Old-timer. 

[Compiled for the Times-Democrat.] 

"Almost all of the tirst boats upon the Western waters were 
designated as "low pressure." This was a misnomer, they 
had merely non-condensing engines, exhausting the steam into 
the air, although they were provided with condensers. Very 
few of the boats built for the Mississippi river had walking 
beams. They had what is called steeple engines, the cylinder 
being placed vertical ; the piston was attached to a beam of 
iron running crosswise, something on the style of an old saw- 
mill engine. Some of the boats were provided with horizontal 
cylinders, like those of the low-pressure Kichmond; these 
engines seldom made more than fifteen or twenty pounds of 
steam, from the fact that they could obtain only a partial vac- 
uum. All of these original engines were built on the Watt & 
Bolton plan, several were imported from England. The 
United States had two walking beam engines, and was prob- 
ably the tirst steamboat to have two engines. The New 
Orleans, Vesuvius, Etna, Buffalo, Ramapo, Fanny, Felici- 
ana, and the Natchez, had the Watt & Bolton engine. The 
first high pressure engine was built in 1813 by French, at 
Brownsville, Pa., and was placed on the Comet. It was an 
oscillating engine, but not working well, was taken out and 
placed in a saw mill at Natchez in 1814, Afterwards French 
put his engines on the Enterprise, Capt. H.. M. Shreve, the 
first boat to enter Red River, and the Dispatch. The first reg- 
ular high pressure boat was the Washington, built for Capt. 
Shreve in 1816, at Wheeling. She had one horizontal cylin- 
der twenty-four inches in diameter, six-foot stroke, four 
single flue boilers. The cut-off cam invented by Capt. Shreve 
was first used on this boat. French and George Evans built 
many high-pressure engines, also the Stackhouse family, who 
succeeded them, and after them the Long-s, who became cele- 
brated as engine builders. It has been stated that the origin- 
ator of the high pressure engine was Trevithick, but Oliver 
Evans, the father of George, claimed that distinction, the one 
that he placed upon a dredging machine in the Delaware river, 
and which was propelled by steam years before Robert Fulton 
built and ran his Clermont on the Hudson River. The im- 



168 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

})rovements made to these engines were clue to an engineer 
named Wolf. He conceived the idea of combining the two 
systems in the same engine, ^\''bich gave us the compound 
engine. Hartupee followed the plan of Wolf. These com- 
pound engines are now in use on some of the most powerful 
tow-boats on the river, and it is claimed for them a saving 
of fuel and an increase of power. The first engineers 
came from England, New York and Philadelphia. Very 
few of them had a theoretical idea of steam; about 
the only thing they knew was that they had a safety 
valve with a weight upon it, indicating so many pounds 
pressure of steam. They also knew that the water 
should be kept at a certain depth in the boilers. When any 
of these boats raced the engineers placed extra weights on the 
safety valves, and really couldn't tell in many instances with- 
in a hundred pounds of the amount of steam they were carrying. 
Within the last thirty years all this has changed, as engineers 
then commenced to receive both a theoretical and practical 
education of their calling. The firstinventionto guard against 
explosion was the Evans' safety guard. This invention has so 
been improved upon that an explosion has become a rare ex- 
ception. The pilots of those days were the keel and barge- 
men. They knew from a hard-earned experience the sand- 
bars, islands, and many of the worst obstructions in the river. 
In those days they did not run the river much at night, the 
danger from snags and sawyers being too great. They were a 
hardy, fearless set of men, whose former life had forced them 
to face every danger, and to stand up against fatigue. The 
captains were chosen mostly from the seafaring class, because 
they were thought to have greater command of the men under 
them. All of the first boats had their cabins on deck aft of 
the engine; the ladies' cabin w^as in the hold aft. They also 
had a bow-sprit and figure-head, like a ship. It is worthy of 
remark that the first steamboat, the New Orleans, on her first 
trip carried a lady passenger, ISIrs. Roosevelt, the wife of the 
captain, and one of the owners of the New Orleans." 

LOUISVILLE CANAL. 

[Louisville Courier, March 21.] 

** The Louisville and Portland Canal will be opened as a great 
free water-way on the 1st of July, and the commerce of the 
loveliest valley of the world will steam through it without toll. 
For sixty years the canal has been one of the most important 
improvements on the Western rivers. It Avas conceived when 



CAPTAIN JOSEPH SWAGER AT EIGHTY-EIGHT YEARS OLD. 169 

^6teamboats were couceived, and the two have considerable 
history in common. There were some stirring events in those 
days, and in search of reminiscences a reporter called upon 
Capt. Joseph Swager. Capt. Swager is in his eighty-eighth 
year, but he is blessed with good health, a vigorous mind, and 
a memory which enables him to review the men and incidents 
of sixty or seventy years ago with the most graphic particu- 
larity. 

" The first boat," said Capt. Swager, " which descended 
the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, was the New Orleans in 
1811. She was built by the Fulton Company of New Orleans 
and had an experience in the earthquake of that year, which 
caused the water in the river to run up stream. The Fulton 
Company built two other boats after that, the Etna and Vesu- 
vius, and were endowed by the Legislature of Louisiana with 
the exclusive ris^ht to navigate bv steam the waters of the State. 
In 1814 a company at Brownsville, Pa., with Capt. Henry M. 
Shreve as manager, built two boats, the Enterprise and the 
Dispatch, which made in all five boats west of the Alleghany 
Mountains. 

'* When the Enterprise reached the Falls at Louisville on 
her return from her first down trip her machinery proved too 
■weak to bring her over. There were quite a number of us 
watching her make the attempt, and when she failed we volun- 
teered to warp her over. We sank the anchor at the head of 
the Falls and connected it by a two-inch cable, with the cap- 
stan on the front, and wound her over by hand. Both of 
Captain Shreve's boats were at New Orleans in 1815, and were 
pressed into Government service by General Jackson. After 
the fight they were released, but the Fulton Company brought 
suit against Capt. Shreve for infrinirement on their exclusive 
right to navigate the waters of that State by steam. Shreve 
gave bond, and his boats were released, but the battle was 
long and fierce over the infringement of the Fulton Company's 
rights. Capt. Shreve finally won the fight. In 1815 he built 
another boat at Brownsville, and called her the George Wash- 
inirton. In coming down the river she got aground ten miles 
below Maysville, and in the effort to get her off the bar the 
boilers blew up and killed ten or twelve men. This, however, 
did not discourage the Captain. He repaired the boilers and 
came on down the river. He was a man of great ability and 
perseverance, and accomplished so much for navigation that in 
1817, when he reached Louisville from New Orleans, having 
made the run in twenty-one days, a public dinner was given 
him, at which he said in his address that he had no doubt 



170 Gould's history of river navigation. 

the day would come when the run would be made in half the 
time. 

"John T. Gray and George Gretsinger built the Governor 
Shelby, the first boat that was launched at Louisville. They 
commenced in 1815, but did not complete her until 1817, 
owing to the failure of the engines, wdiich were built by Dr. 
Ruble. The work was delayed until engines could be brought 
from New York. Steamboats continued to increase in num- 
ber, and in a few years the risk incurred in going over the 
falls and the impossibility of getting over at all when the water 
was low led to the agitation of a proposition to construct a 
canal around the falls. The agitation developed a division in 
the sentiment of the peoi)le on the subject, many thinking that 
it would work a great injury to the prosperity of Louisville. 

" The first charter for a canal was granted by the Legisla- 
ture January 30, 1818, to the Kentucky Ohio Canal Company, 
and on February 10, 1820, an amended charter was granted 
them, more liberal than the first, but nothing was done under 
either. The time in which the canal was to be com})ieted was 
extended from time to time by the Legislature, until the mat- 
ter was taken up by two gentlemen from Philadelphia, named 
Ronaldson and Hulme, and Captain Shackelford of St. Louis. 
[From the published proceedings of the Legislature it seems 
that those men secured the franchise of the old company and 
applied for an amendment, which was granted them December 
20, 1825. The name of the company was changed to the 
Louisville and Portland Canal Company, and on January 20, 
182(5, they purchased from John Rowan ninety acres of land, 
extending from the foot of Ninth street to Portland. — Rep.] 

" Great opposition was encountered when it became evident 
that a determined effort was to be made to build the canal. 
Petitions were circulated for signatures, praying the Legisla- 
ture not to grant the new or amended charter. I was runninir a 
packet between Louisville and St. Louis at the time, and when 
I got into port they came to me with the petition for my 
signature, but I told them I couldn't sign it. 

" They expressed great surprise at my refusal, and asked 
me if I, a citizen of Louisville, interested in her prosperity, 
was willing for them to build the canal around the falls, and 
make Louisville a way landing. I told them that what the 
city wanted was men and capital, and the way to bring them 
is to inaugurate public enterprises ; that a million dollars in- 
vested in the canal was safe — it couldn't be taken away, and 
would bring men with more money. 

" It took them four or five years to get the canal so boats- 



STEAMER Manhattan's arrival at louisville in 1819. 171 

could pass through, and even then it was a very difficult un- 
dertaking. The sharp rocks stuck out from both banks and 
cut the boats up terribly, and it was necessary to hold a boat 
well in hand and go very slow to keep from tearing her sides 
to pieces. 

"I don't remember who took the first boat through. The 
first one I saw go through I had chai'ge of myself. It was in 
1829 or 1830. I was in port with the Don Juan, and Capt. 
D. S. Benedict was running the first Diana, of which I was 
part owner, and he was not willing to run the risk of going 
through the canal. 1 told him to get everything ready and I 
would take the risk and run her through, which I did; but I 
don't remember whether that was the first, boat that went 
through or not. But it was a dangerous piece of business for 
ten or fifteen vears to take a boat throuo;h. The eiitrineer 
made a mistake in the depth of the ditch, and gave only six 
feet in the canal, when there was nine feet on the falls. This 
mistake rendered necessary the construction of the lock and 
dams. 

" Mr. Ronaldson, the prime mover in the canal project, wag 
a bachelor, rich and philanthropic, and was very kind to the 
men working on the canal. Those diorsfino- in the g-round be- 
gan to sicken and die from the unhealthy nature of the work. 
Mr. Ronaldson bought heavy flannel, and employed the wives 
of the workmen to make it up into shirts, which he gave to 
them to kee}) them from getting sick. He was very particular, 
too, about the way the shirts were made, and examined them 
very closely. When he found one badly made, he would not 
accept it. When he returned them on account of the sewing, 
the women asked him what made him so particular, he wag 
going'to give them away, anyhow. This enraged him, and he 
scolded them terribly, saying, ' it's none of your business what 
I'm going to do with them ; I pay you to make them, and you 
must make them right.' That wassixty years ago, however." 

[From Louisiana Gazette.] 
THE MANHATTAN. 

Nov. 27, 1819. A portion of the manifest of the cargo of 
steamboat Manhattan from New York to Louisville, Ky. 
(Falls of Ohio). 

10 boxes dry goods and clothing to Ramsey & Holmes, 
Natchez; 32 packages dry goods to H. Postlewaith, Natchez; 
18 packages merchandise to I. G. Gates, Shawneetown, 111.; 
35 packages of merchandise to W. Foster, Evansville, Ind.;. 



172 Gould's history of rivj:u navigation. 

24 casks of ironmongery to M. Dcwitt, Louisville, Ky. ; 2 
cases merchandise to W. C. Barker & Co., Louisville, Ky. ; 
13 cases merchandise to T. Jones, Louisville, Ky. ; 2 pipes of 
wine and 81 bars iron to T. Jones, Louisville, Ky. 

New York, Nov. 4th, 1819. — The elegant and powerful 
steam vessel Manhattan, Capt. Jenkins, started at 10 o'clock 
yesterday for New Orleans and Louisville, Ky. (Falls of 
Ohio), and in less than two hours after leaving the wharf, 
she discharged her pilot, having run 28 miles in one hour 
and 50 minutes. 

The steamboat Manhattan, Capt. Jenkins, arrived at this 
port yesterday from New York. She is on a voyage to Louis- 
ville, K3^ She passed the town in handsome style', giving a 
gratifying specimen of her speed and power of her engine. 
We are informed by Capt. Jenkins, that he experienced a 
violent gale of wind on the second day out, attended with 
heavy cross sea, and during the whole of its continuance 
her engine was kept going. She proved herself a good 
sea boat. She is intended as a regular trader from this port 
to Louisville. 

Saturday, March 24th, 1820. — Arrived from Louisville, 
Ky.,the steamboat Manhattan. — Log: — 

Passed, on the 19th, near the mouth of Cumberland, steam- 
boats Car of Commerce and James Ross. On the 22d, at 
Grand Cut Oif, steamboat Vulcan, 10 days out. The Man- 
hattan has run the distance from Louisville to New Or- 
leans in 142 hours and 10 minutes. This we believe has 
not been surpassed or equaled by any steamboat. She was 
detained 35 days on her voyage up on account of low water 
and ice. Manifest of cargo, 330 hogsheads tobacco, 100 
barrels pork, 150 barrels flour, 30 barrels beans, 100 kegs 
lard, 50 kegs tobacco, 50 barrels apples. 

cultivation of cotton. 

1742. About this time a cotton gin, invented by M. Dubreuil, 
which facilitated the operation of separating the cotton fiber 
from the seed, created an epoch in the cultivation of cotton in 
Louisiana, and it began to enter largely into the products of 
the plantation. — Extract De Boio's Review. 

1783. The first arrival of American cotton at Liverpool 
was witnessed by Mr. Maury, the first American consul at 
Liverpool, whose death recently took place at New York, wit- 
nessed the first importation at Liverpool of American cotton, 
and which was seized under the impression that it had been 
grown in India. — Extract from Hazard's Register^, 1840. 



COTTON RAISED AT NATCHEZ, 1722. 173 



EXPORTATION OF COTTON, 

[Extract from United States Gazette, Philadelphia, 1828.] 

An idea generally prevails that the cultivation of cotton in 
this country, as an article of export, commeuced subsequently 
to the establishment of the Federal Constitution. This is au 
error. It appears from the following extract taken from an 
old work now in the city library, entitled " Present State of 
Great Britain and North America," London, 1766, that it 
was cultivated in Virginia as early as 1746. 

Philadelphia, April 14th, 1828. 

'♦ Some of the cotton from Virginia was sent to Manchester 
in the year 1746, where it sold for 18 pence per pound, and 
the workmen who had it on trial, reported to the merchants, 
who sent it to them, that it was as good as any they had, and 
that they would take any quantity of it." 

" Upon this, several trials were made to plant cotton, both 
there and in the Carolinas as a standard commodity to send to 
Britain." 

GROWTH OF COTTON. 

The first notice of cotton growing in Mississippi is by 
Charlevoix, who states that he saw some planted at Natchez 
iij 1722, in the garden of M. de Noir. 

Bienville wrote, in 1735, that it grew well on the Mississippi, 
and Vandreuil in 1746, informed tlie French government that 
cotton had been received at New Orleans from the Illinois.^ 

It began to be cultivated as a crop in Louisiana in 1760, 
from St. Domingo seed and Maurepas, the French minister, 
recommended the importation of machinery from the East 
Indies for the separation of the seed and lint. In 1722, Cap- 
tain Roman, of the British army, was at East Pascagoula and 
saw the black seed cotton growing on the farm of Mr. Krebs, 
with a machine of his o\vn invention for its conversion into lint. 
This was the Roller gin and no doubt the first ever in opera- 
tion in this country. 

In 1796, David Greenleaf, a very ingenious mechanic, was 
constructing gins in tlie vicinity of Natchez. He built the first 
public or toll gin on the land of Mr. Richard Curtis, at Selser- 
town, conducted for many years afterwards by Edmund An- 
drews. 1807, Eleazer Carver commenced building gins at the 



1 All the country above the mouth of Yazoo was then called the " Illi- 
nois." The cotton referred to probably came from the Post of Arkansas, 
which had been early settled by the French. 



174 Gould's history of river navigation. 

town of Washington, where he erected the first saw mill 
to supply his shop with materials. He commenced in a primi- 
tive style but did good work. He removed to Bridgwater, 
Mass., and to this day his gins maintain their reputation. 

IbUl. The first screw press was made in Philadelphia for 
Sir Wm. Dunbar, after a model sent by him in 1799 to Mr. 
John Ross. On its receipt, he wrote to his correspondent : I 
Bhall endeavor to indemnify myself for the cost by making 
w(ton seed oil. This is the first suggestion of that product 
which has now become a great article of commerce. 

1711. The planters around Natchez turned their attention 
to raising cotton on a larger scale, the seed having been pro- 
cured from Jamaica and other West India islands. It was a 
black seed, of fine fiber and good staple, and was the only va- 
riety planted in thisquarter until 1811. Afterthis date, what 
is known as the Petit Gulf seed were introduced, it was com- 
monly said from Mexico, by Dr. Rush Nutt, f a distinguished 
planter and scientist. The variety was very prolific, with a 
long, fine and strong staple. 

EARLY PROPHESIES ON THE CAPABILITIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI 
AND OHIO VALLEYS. 

An illustration of the adaptability of the West to populate 
the country rapidly is found in Kramer's Navigator, pub- 
lished in Pittsburgh in 1818, tenth edition. 

" Mr. Charles Wells, Sen., resident on the Ohio River fifty 
miles below '\\'heeling, related to me while at his home, in Oc- 
tober 1812, the following circumstances: — 

That he has had two wives (the last of which still lives, and 
is a smart, hale-looking woman), had twentij-two children, 
sixteen of whom are still living, healthy, and many of them 
married and have already pretty large families. That a ten- 
ant of his, a Mr. Scott, a Marylander, has had twenty-two, the 
last now being at the breast of its mother who is yet a gay 
Irishwoman, being Scott's second wife. That a Mr. Gordon, 
an American-German, formerly a neighbor of Mr. Wells, now 
residing on the Muskingum, State of Ohio, has had by two 
wives twenty-eight children. Mr. Gordon is eighty years old, 
active and in hale health. These three worthy families have 



t Dr. Rush Nutt was the first to perceive the advantage of regular 
motion for the gin so as the better to detach the motes or false seed. And 
with this object was the first to substitute, in 1830, the steam engine for 
horse-power. This was the first steam power ever used in the ginning of 
cotton. — Exi. Claihorn's History of Mississippi. 



PROLIFIC COUNTRY FOR CHILDREN. 175 

had born to them seventy-two clnldren — a number, perhaps, 
imexampled in any other country in the world, and such as 
would make Buffon stare, when he generously asserts as well 
as several writers of Europe — " that animal life degenerates 
in America." Mr. Wells further states, that a tenant of his 
son Charles, has a family of fifteen children. The last year, 
1811, within a circuit of ten miles around him, ten women had 
born to them twenty children, each having had twins. 

The banks of the Ohio seem peculiarly grateful to the prop- 
agation of the human species, and perhaps stronger evidences 
could not be produced than the anecdotes just related. In- 
deed, an observation to this effect can hardly be missed by 
any person descending that river and calling frequently at the 
cabins on its banks. Children are the first object that strikes 
the eye on mounting the hank, and the last thing he hears on 
leaving the not unfrequeutly ragged-looking premises." 

The following just observations were addressed to the Earl 
of Hillsborough in 1770, when Secretary of State for the 
North American Department: — 

" No part of America will need less encouragement for the 
production of naval stores and raw materials for the manu- 
facturers of Europe, and for supplying the AYest India Islands 
with lumber, provisions, etc., than the country of the Ohio, 
and for the following reasons : — 

1st. The lands are excellent, the climate is temper.ate. The 
native grapes, silk worms and mulberry trees abound every- 
where — hemp, hops and rye grow spontaneously in the val- 
leys and lowlands. Lead and iron are plenty in the hills. 

Salt springs are innumerable, and no soil is better adapted 
to the culture of tobacco, flax and cotton than the Ohio. 

The river Ohio is navigable at all seasons of the year for 
hirge boats, like the West country barges, rowed only by four 
or five men. 

And from the month of February to April large ships may 
be built on the Ohio, and sent to sea laden with hemp, iron, 
flax, silk, cotton, tobacco, pot-ash, etc. 

All the articles may be sent down the river Ohio to the sea 
at least fifty per cent, cheaper than they are carried only 
sixty miles by land carriage in Pennsylvania, where wagon- 
ing is cheaper than in any other part of North America. 

Whenever the farmers and merchants shall properl}' under- 
stand the business of transportation, they will build schooners, 
sloops, etc., on the Ohio suitable for the West India, or 
European markets, or by having cherry, black walnut, oak, 
€tc., properly sawed for foreign markets and formed into 



17(3 GOULDS IIISTOKY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

rafts in the manner it is now being done by settlers near the 
upper parts of the Delaware, and in Pennsylvania, and thereon 
8tow their hemp, iron, tobacco, etc., and proceed with them 
to New Orleans. The river Ohio seems kindly designed by 
nature as the channel through which the two Floridas can be 
supplied with flour, not only for their own consumption, but 
also for the carrying on an extensive trade with Jamaica and 
the Spanish settlements on the bay of Mexico. 

Mill stones in abundance can be found in the hills near the 
Ohio, and the country is supplied with abundance of water 
power for grist mills, etc. 

The passage is seldom made from Philadelphia to Pensacola 
in less than a month, and sixty shillings per ton freight (con- 
sisting of sixteen barrels), is usually paid for flour, etc., 
thither. 

Boats carrying 800 to 1,000 barrels of flour may go from 
Pittsburgh in about the same time as from Philadelphia to 
Pensacohi, and for half the amount of freight and arrive 
there in much better order. 

This is not mere speculation, for it is a fact that about the 
year 1746 there was a" great scarcity of provisions at Ne\\ Or- 
leans, and the French settlements at the Illinois, small as they 
then were, sent thither in one winter upwards of eight hun- 
dred thousand weight of flour." — From " Internal Commerce 
of the United States." 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

[From Carnegie's " Triumphant Democracy." 

" Nature has done much for America as regards facilities for 
transportation. Her inland seas, Containing one-third of alt 
the fresh water in the world, and her great rivers lie ready at 
hand awaiting orjly an application of steam to vessels to ren- 
der them magnificent highways. A vessel sailing round the 
edges of these American hikes traverses a greater distance than 
from New York to Liverpool. 

The rivers of America are also the largest in the world. 
After the Amazon and the LaPlata comes the Mississippi, with 
an outflow of over 2,000,000 cubic feet per hour. This mighty 
river, which the Indians called, in their picturesque language. 
Father of Waters, is equal in bulk to all the rivers of Europe 
combined, exclusive of the Volga. It is equal to three Ganges, 
nine Rhones, twenty-seven Seines, or eighty Tibers. " The 
mighty Tiber chafing with its flood," says the master. How 



VALUE OF OHIO RIVER TRANSPORTATIONS, 1874. 177 

would he have described the Mississippi od the rampage after 
a spring flood, when it pours down its mighty volume of water 
and overflows the adjacent lowlands? Eighty Tibers in one ! 
Burns' picture of the pretty little Ayr in flood has been ex- 
tolled, where the foaming waters come down " an acre braid," 
What think you of a tumbling sea 20 miles " braid" instead 
of your "acre," dear Kobin? The length of the Mississippi 
is 2,250 miles, while its navigable tributaries exceed 20,000 
miles. The Father of Waters collects his substance from 
water-sheds covering an area of more than 2,500,000 square 
miles. 

"The early history of navigation in America presents as 
many curious contrasts and interesting facts as do other di- 
visions of the history of American progress. From the begin- 
nings which to us seem ludicrously small and crude, the greatest 
results have come. At the beginning of the century a success- 
ful steamboat had not been built. For twenty or thirty years 
inventors in France, Scotland, England, and America had been 
working and planning to apply a principle which they saw 
was perfectly applicable; but lacking knowledge of one or two 
little essentials, they only passed from failure to failure, yet 
constantly getting nearer and nearer to success. John Fitch 
and Oliver Evans are the names of the earliest representatives 
of America in this great struggle. 

" After each experimenter had contributed some new light, 
an American engineer, Robert Fulton by name, gathered, in 
1807, the multiplicity of lights into one great flame, and mado 
practicable by the help of all what each had tried in vain to 
achieve by himself. Fulton's Clermont was the first commer- 
cially successful steamboat ever built. A boat of 160 tons 
burden, she was launched on the Hudson in 1807, and ran over 
a year as a passenger boat between New York and Albany. 
The first steamboat of the Mississippi Valley was built by 
Fulton in 1811, and was called the Orleans. She had a stern 
wheel, and went from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, more than 
2,000 miles, in fourteen days. The next year Henry Bell, of 
Scotland, built the Comet, of 30 tons, which plied, between 
Glasgow and Greenoch, and in 1813 sailed around the coasts 
of the British Isles. In 1819 the 8avannaJi, 380 tons burden, 
crossed the Atlantic from America, visited Liverpool, St. Pet- 
ersburg, and Copenhagen, and returned." 

" The traffic floated upon these Western rivers will surprise 
many. Take the Ohio, for instance; a competent authority 
has stated that the total of its trade from its head at Pittsburgh 
to its mouth at New Cairo, about 1,000 miles, exceeded in 1874 

12 



178 Gould's histouy of river navigation. 

$800,000,000, or £11)0. 000, 000, a sum greater than the total 
exports of the nation about which we hear so much. It ia 
upon the Ohio that the cheapest transportation in the world 
exists. Coal, coke, and other bulky articles are transported 
at the rate of one-twentieth of a cent, one-fortieth of a penny, 
per ton per mile. This is made possible by means of barges, 
many of which are lashed together .and pushed ahead by a 
steam tug. The current, of course, carries along the floating 
mass. The steamer has little to do but to guide while descend- 
ing and to tow the empty barges back. The records of 1884 
show that there were owned in the one city of Pittsburgh for 
use on the river 4,323 vessels, including btirges, with a tonnage 
of 1,700,000 tons. One hundred and sixty-three of these were 
steamboats. Twenty-thousand miles of navigable water-waysi 
lie before these Pittsburgh craft, and many thousand miles 
more are ready to be opened by easily constructed improve- 
ments in the lesser streams. This work the General Govern- 
ment is steadily performing year after year, as well as improving 
the existing navio-ation. Even to-dav, a boat can start from 
Pittsburgh for a port 4,300 miles distant, as far as from New 
York to Queenstown and half way back, or as far away as the 
Baltic ports are from New York." 



CHANGES AND FLUCTUATIONS IN RIVER BUSINESS. 

There are several eras, somewhat vaguely divided frona 
each other in the commercial history of the Lower Mississippi. 

1. The French and Spanish dominion, when the mouths of 
the river and a large portion of its course was controlled by 
France or Spain. It is only in the last few years of the S[);in- 
ish dominion, when the American settlers had poured over 
into the Ohio valley, that the river trade attained any import- 
ance whatever. 

2. The period of flat-boats and barges, extending from 
1803, the year of the purchase of Louisiana, to 1816, when 
the steamboat was an acknowledged success, not only in going 
down, but up stream against the current. 

3. The early steamboat period, 1816 to 1840, when the 
river found its first competitor for the traffic of the Missis- 
sippi Valley in the canals built westward from the Atlantic 
seaboard. 

4. From 1840 to 1860, when the river route came into com- 
petition with railroads. 

5. The war period of almost total suspension in river traffic. 



BIENVILLE ON THE MISSISSIPPI IN 1699. 179 

6. The post-beUum period of active rivalry between river 
and rail. 

These different eras are marked by chantres in trade lines, 
and means of transportation, and by the vessels used in navi- 
gating the river; first, bark canoes, then pirogues, bateaus, 
barges, flat-boats, keels, and hnally steamboats. 

THE FRENCH AND SPANISH DOMINION. 

Although the early French settlements were made altogether 
on the Missi^isippi or its chief tributaries, like Red River 
and Bayou Lafourche, and travel from point to point was by 
the river, the Mississippi was of no importance whatever as a 
commercial factor. The great valley which to-day clothes 
and feeds so large a proportion of the world, was actually not 
pelf-supporting. The imports were larger than the exports, 
and but for the assistance given by the original grantee of 
Louisiana, Crozat, and afterwards by the French government 
itself, the colony would have died out from actual starvation, 
the records noting no less than three serious famines. 

The early mode of traveling on the river is described by 
Bienville in his exploration in 1(399, which ascended nearly as 
high as Natchez. The Frenchmen used the ships' boats of the 
fleet, and canoes made of bark or hollowed from the trunks of 
trees, almost similar in style and build to those of the Indians. 

He left a fair record of the topography of the river at the 
time, and has thus enabled the engineers of later days to note 
what changes have taken place in the channel of the river in 
the past two centuries. He himself was a witness of the be- 
ginning of the Pointe Coupee cut-off, and notices in his ac- 
count of his first trip there, the river was trickling around a 
point just below the mouth of Red River. 

At that day the Indians along the Lower Mississippi, the 
Houmas, Bayagoulas, Natchez, and Tensas, were dying off 
as fast as they could — they are all extinct to-day — and the 
river was as dead coramerciall}'' as it is possible to conceive. 
The Indians carried on no buisness or commerce whatever with 
each other; indeed on account of the overflowing of the banks, 
the settlements directly on the Mississippi were few, the abori- 
gines seeking; the hi<2;hlands or mounds which are to be found 
here and there some miles back of the river. M. Bienville 
went for miles and days without seeing an Indian, but notices 
that the eastern bank of the river near the Baton Rouge was 
crowded with buffaloes. 

The subsequent explorations of the Mississippi and the se- 



180 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

lection of New Orleans as a location for the future capital of 
the colony were made in French men-of-war and yawls. The 
earl}^ colonists adopted the Indian bark canoe, which was ex- 
ceedingly light and< even when freighted, easily handled. 
When any difficulty was encountered in the river, either in 
snags or on account of the current, or when it was found 
shorter to cut across a point rather than take the long circuit- 
ous trip around it, these boats were hauled out of the water ^ 
just as Bienville had done, and carried by the Indian or negrO' 
slaves until the river was reached again. 

The settlement of Lower Louisiana, however, and the in- 
creasing demands of trade required vessels of a different 
character and greater carrying capacity than these canoes, and 
the pirogue — a vessel peculiar to Lower Louisiana — came 
into play to supply the need. The pirogue is simply a log 
canoe — a solid log of cypress or live-oak which has been cut 
out in the center, and is propelled by paddles rather than oars,. 
worked first on one side and then on the other. It is astonish- 
ing how long this primitive boat continued in use. Pirogues^, 
indeed, exist to this day in Louisiana, but only for hunting, 
never for commercial purposes. The modern pirogue is small 
and holds at best two men. The propeller of the vessel stands 
erect, using his paddle with skill and agility, for it requires 
but the slightest tiltino; of the boat to overturn it. The com- 
mercial pirogue of early Louisiana was generally somewhat 
larger, from 2 to otons, and propelled by negro slaves, a mast 
and sail being occasionally used when the wind was favorable. 
In one of these as many as 20 bales of cotton or 30 barrels of 
molasses could be floated down to New Orleans, the light ves- 
sel being entirely paddled back to the plantation. Although of 
the most primitive character, and the first craft used on the 
Mississippi, unless we exce))t the bark canoe of the Indians, 
the pirogue survived in river commerce for over a century, 
and as late as 1830 a considerable amount of the produce of 
Louisiana reached the market in the.^e log canoes. 

Besides these pirogues, the river craft in use in these early 
days were the bateaux (French for boats,) and various non- 
descripts. The bateaux were generally in use in the upper 
country, and meant for longer voyages than the pirogues. 
They were of rough plank, long in proportion to their breadth, 
and something in the shape of a coffin. They were never very 
popular on the Lower Mississippi, and died an early death, 
although even as late as 1825 an occasional bateaux reached 
New Orleans from some extreme point in the wild Indian 
country west of the Mississippi. 



FIRST SHIPMENT OF HIDES AND SKINS FROM OHIO. 1^1 

The French settled the Mississippi Valley both at its head 
and at its mouth about the same time time. After Bienville 
had made his exploration of the Mississippi, but before New 
Orleans had been founded, or indeed fjreamt of, they had 
made several settlements within the limits of Pennsylvania, 
Ohio and Indiana. 



FIRST SHIPMENT BY THE MISSISSIPPI. 

The first shipment down the Mississippi was made in 1705, 
when the French voyageurs in the Indian country around the 
Wabash collected from the Severn 1 hunting posts in the neigh- 
borhood some 10,000 deer and 5,000 bear skins and shipped 
them down the river. The experiment was a success, although 
the cargo had a long and dangerous voyage to make. The 
voageurs traveled in their boats 1,400 miles without seeing a 
white man, through a country the population of which was 
mainly hostile. The trip was successfully made down the 
Ohio and Mississippi to the month of Bayou Manchac, which 
then opened into the river some 15 miles below Baton Rouge, 
but which has been closed to navigation since Jackson's day. 
Instead of going down the Mississippi to the mouth — there 
was no settlement below and no point at which the cargo could 
be loaded on ocean-going vessels — these early merchants went 
down Bayou Manchac and the Iberville River (now the Amite), 
thence through lak<'S Maurepas and Ponchartrain to the French 
settlements on Mississi])pi Sound at Biloxi (now Ocean 
Springs). From there the produce of the chase in Ohio and 
Indiana was sent to Mobile, whence it was shipped to France. 
It arrived there safely and the transaction proved a profitable 
one. 

The voyageurs, however, who had made the long trip down 
the river never returned home, but settled in Louisiana. From 
the forests in Central Ohio these hides had been conveyed, 
mainly in open boats, some 1,400 miles by river and lake and 
4,500 by sea, it taking more than half a year for them to reach 
their destination. This is the first reported commercial trans- 
iiction on the Mississippi, and it is gratifying to know that it 
was a successful one to all those interested. It was the beofin- 
ning of a trade that grew with years, and which, indeed, was 
the largest item of commerce at New Orleans for many decades 
of its early history. By 1720, when the Illinois country, both 
on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, was settled by the pio- 
neers from French Canada, the shipments down the river in- 



182 Gould's history of river navigation. 

eluded some other articles besides those of the chase, and agri- 

.... ^ 

cultural products were shipped by the Mississippi, mainly for 

use on the Gulf coast, which did not produce enough food for 
its support during the first half century of the colony's exist- 
ence. A small amount of these food products was shi})ped to 
the West Indies. 

The French Western Company, under Crozat, had been 
granted a monopoly of tlie trade of the Mississippi for twenty- 
five years, but this was so unprofitable that the company, after 
holding it for fifteen years and sinking a large amount in the 
experiment, surrendered its monopoly, and Louisiana, which 
then includded the entire Mississippi Valley, became a crown- 
colony. The total exports from the valley amounted at that 
time to $(52,000, of which 65 percent, were skins shipped from 
the upper river country. Under the French crown *.here was 
little improvement, and the colony was never self->-apporting 
while in French possession, the Government being compelled 
to make good a large deficit each year. 

EXPORTS FROM THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 

In 1763, when Louisiana was transferred to Spain, the total 
export trade of the colony was estimated as follows : — 

Indigo $100,000 

Deer skins 80,000- 

Lumber 50,000 

Naval stores t 12,000- 

Rice, peas, and beans 4,000 

Tallow 4,000- 

Smuggled trade 54,000 

Total 304,000 

The deer-skins and tallow came from the upper country ; the 
indigo was mainly from Louisiana; the naval stores were pro- 
duced in the Mississippi Sound country, which, although a 
part of Louisiana at the time, is not within the limits of the 
Mississippi Valley. 

Louder the Spanish rule Louisiana rapidly advanced com- 
mercially. The importance of the Mississippi was beginning 
to be recognized, and the great powers of Europe soon became 
involved in a game of intrigue for its possession. The popu- 
lation of the Lower Mississippi country — what is now Louisi- 
ana — advanced rapidly and the commerce doubled every few 
years. For the first time in the history of the Mississippi 
large shipments were made up the river, and it was through 



MERCHANTS OF NEW ORLEANS IN 1778. 18^ 

New Orleans and by the river route that the struggling Ameri- 
can colonies received through the connivance of the Spanish 
Government the arms and gunpowder they needed so sorely in 
the Revolutionary war. The fur trade of New Orleans had 
reached a high figure by this time, some $100,000 a year, 
nearly all of it the produce of the trappers in the Northwestern 
forests. It was from the Mississippi Valley also that Cuba 
got much of its lumber and a majority of the boxes in which 
the sugar crop of the island was packed. By 1770 the com- 
merce of New Orleans and the Mississippi Valley had increased 
to exports of $631,000 a year — mainly furs, skins, indigo, and 
lumber. New Orleans, which had possessed no commerce 
worth speaking about before and no merchants — the articles 
consumed in the colony being obtained mainly from the Gov- 
ernment vessels and only so man}^ ships being allowed to enter 
the river each year — begun to talk of trade and to complain 
that the British were engrossing the commerce of the Missis- 
sippi Valley. In 1778 the merchants of New Orleans, who had 
grown to be of some importance, were granted special privi- 
leges by the Spanish Government on account of the loyalty 
and courage shown by the Louisiana troops, who had, under 
Governor Galvez, captured Baton Rouge, Pensacola, and other 
important points, and driven the British out of West Florida. 
In return for their coiu'age and loyalty. New Orleans was 
granted the privilege of sending each year so many ship-loads 
of goods to France instead of being compelled to ship all its 
products to Spanish ports. 

This marks the opening of the Mississippi to the commerce 
of the world. Previous to this grant there was no freedom 
whatever. Under Crozat, under the French and afterwards 
under the Spanish, the trade v/as regulated and controlled by 
the government; the people were not allowed to ship where 
they wanted to or what they wanted, and no vessel of a foreign 
power, whether friendly or not, was allowed to enter the river 
for commercial puri)oses. 

In the meanwhile a settlement was growing up on the Ohio 
and its tributaries that soon changed the future of the entire 
Mississippi Valley. When the United States became possessor 
of the Ohio basin, as the legatee of Great Britain, the total white 
population of the vast region was only a few thousand, almost 
wholly of the French origin, and engaged more in hunting than 
in agriculture. About the time the Revolutionary war opened a 
new immigration set in from the English colonies on the At- 
lantic, over the Alleghanies into the Valley of the Ohio. The 
story of Daniel Boone and the settlement of Kentucky, Ten- 



184 Gould's history of river navigation. 

nessee, and Ohio has been told already in full. Within twen- 
ty years after the first white American was settled in the basin 
of the Ohio, its population was producing large surplus crops 
of all kinds and seeking for an outlet by which they could be 
shipped to market. During the Kevolutionary war the United 
States had stationed an agent in New Orleans for the purchase 
of guns and ammunition for the Continental forces and their 
shipment up the river to Pittsburgh and thence overland to 
Philadelphia. In 1788 the settlers in Kentucky and Tennes- 
see were shipping a large quantity of produce down the Mis- 
sissippi ; and several Philadelphia merchants found it profit- 
able to establish themselves in New Orleans for the purpose 
of handling this trade, which amounted at that time to some 
$225,000 a year. 

THE RIGHT OF DEPOSIT. 

One of the first diplomatic acts of the young Republic was to 
secure greater facilities for its citizens settled in the Missis- 
sippi Valley in the shipment of their surplus crops. Nearly 
half the country lay in the basin of the Ohio or the Mississippi 
and dependent upon '* the Father of Waters" to reach the sea- 
board. No one at that time, save Washington and a few 
others, dreamed of sending goods over the Alleghanies by 
canals or other means ; and it was deemed absolutely necessary 
for the prosperity of the great region lying between the Blue 
Ridge and the Mississippi that the river should be neutralized 
as the Suez Canal is to-day and the settlers on its upper tribu- 
taries allowed to ship their produce through it without paying 
toll to the country of Spain, which happened to own its 
mouth, just as has been done with the Danube. Negotiations 
to this end were begun with Spain, and in 1795 the treaty of 
peace between that power and the United States made the 
Mississippi free to the commerce of the Western peo])le, who 
were given for three years the right of deposit for their pro- 
duce at New Orleans. If, at the end of three years, Spain 
desired to fix another place of deposit it was at liberty to 
do so. 

The result of this treaty opening the Mississippi to the com- 
merce of the Western Territories had the effect that might 
have been expected; and the river trade suddenly sprang for- 
ward with startling rapidity, and reached what was deemed in 
those days an immense figure. 

It is interesting to note the traffic on it then, so as to see 
what advance there has been in the ])ast hundred vears. 



EXPORTS OF PRODUCE FROM NEW ORLEANS IN 1795. 185 

The exports of New Orleans at that time were estimated 
by an expert, who made a careful examination of the matter, 
as: — 

Cotton (200,000 pounds) .§50,000 

"Furs 100,000 

Boxes (for sugar, 200,000) 225,000 

Sugar (40,000,000 pounds) 320,000 

Indigo (100,000 pounds) 100,000 

Tobacco (200,000 pounds) IG.OOO 

Timber 50,000 

Rice (2,000 barrels) 50,000 

Western produce (flour, tobacco, etc.) 500,000 

Total i $1,421,000 

The fnrs came from the upper country ; so did some of the 
cotton; the snuar, indigo, r:ce, and timber from the Spanish 
possessions in Louisiana; the rest from Kentucky alid Ohio. 
In 1798 the receipts of produce from the American settle- 
ments on the Ohio reached $975,000, and were increasing 
some $300,000 a year with the new population pouring into 
the country. The three years during which New Orleans had 
been agreed on as the depot for Western produce, according 
to the treaty between Spain and the United States had ehipsed. 
The attention of the Spanish Government was called to this, 
and it was urged by the Kentuckians that if Spain desired to 
make a change, another point be selected ; but nothing was 
done. It remained for the Spanish intendant, Morales, to 
interpret the treaty as meaning that with the lapse of these 
three years the Americans lost all right of deposit at New 
Orleans or any other point in the Spanish possessions, and 
that the Lower Mississippi was thus virtually closed to them. 
It was a fatal decision, for Spain, and if Senor Morales had 
seen the consequence or understood the feeling that his action 
aroused in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, he would never 
have been guilty of it, for his decision lost Louisiana to his 
government. The neutrality and freedom of the Mississippi 
became at once the aim of American diplomacy, and the 
United States was convinced that the stability of the Govern- 
ment and the commercial necessities of the West required the 
possession and control of the Mississippi. For the next four 
years the Mississippi problem and the purchase of Louisiana 
were the chief subjects of discussion in Congress, and Ameri- 
can statesmen at home and abroad worked and intrigued 
zealously to prevent the Mississippi falling from the hands 
of a weak power like Spain into those of a strong one 
like England or France, both of whom had their eyes on 



186 Gould's history of river navigation. 

this rich, ftrtile, and productive valley, whose wealth was 
just beginning to be recognized. 

As for the Western people, the Kentuckians and Tennessee- 
ans, they were wild with fury when they heard that their only- 
outlet to market was closed to them by Morales' s order. An 
expedition to New Orleans to capture the city and drive the 
Spanish out of the Mississippi A'alley was seriously discussed. 
An account was taken of the men available for military serv- 
ice, who were estimated at 20,000, and the preliminary organi- 
zation begun, when the President sent three regiments to the 
Ohio to prevent such a filibustering expedition, and assured 
the people that the matter would be settled by diplomacy. 
Petitions poured into Congress demanding that it take some 
action to open the Mississippi to the commerce of the West- 
ern Territories. The following, which is one of the petitions 
presented at the time, gives an idea of the Western sentiment 
on this subject: — 

petition of the people of KENTUCKY TO CONGRESS, 1798. 

** The Mississippi is ours by the law of nature; it belongs 
to us by our numbers and by the labor which we have be- 
stowed upon these spots, which before our arrival were desert 
and barren. Our innumerable rivers swell it and flow with it 
into the Gulf of Mexico. Its mouth is the only issue which 
nature has given to our waters, and we Avish to use it for our 
vessels. We do not prevent the Spanish and French from 
ascending the river to our towns and villages. We wish, in 
our turn, to descend it without any interruption to its mouth, 
to ascend it again, and to exercise our privilege of trading on 
it and navigating it at our pleasure. If our most entire 
liberty in this matter is disputed, nothing will prevent our 
taking possession of the capital (of Louisiana,) and when we 
are once masters of it, we will know how to maintain ourselves 
there. If Congress refuses us effectual protection, if it for- 
sakes us, we will adopt the measures which our safety requires, 
even if they endanger the peace of the Union and our connec- 
tion with the other States. No protection, no allegiance." 

There is no doubt that this threat of secession was very 
popular among some of the pioneers of the West. It must be 
remembered that the Federal Union was less than ten years 
old; that the settlers along the Ohio were cut off from the At- 
lantic sea-coast by mountains through which no roads of any 
kind ran; that their sole dependence was the Mississippi, and, 
their crops were of no value without the use of that stream. 



FREEDOM OF THE MISSISSIPPI DETERMINED UPON. 187 

The Government recognized the justice of these plaints, and 
Mr. Madison himself, while Secretary of State, in writing to 
the American minister at Madrid, said of the AVestern people: 

"The Mississippi River to them is everything — it is the 
Hudson, the Delaware, the Potomac, and all the navigable 
waters of the Atlantic States formed into one stream." 

In the meanwhile this embargo had caused considerable 
trouble in New Orleans, where it threatened to create a famine. 
The lower river country, as to-day, raised articles like indigo, 
sugar, and cotton, mainly for export, and not enough pro- 
visions for the supply of the population. As a consequence 
of the stoppage of the shipments from the Ohio, there was a 
dearth of llour and other Western produce in New Orleans. 

The discussion over the trade of the Mississippi found its 
way into Congress, and served as the chief subject of debate. 

Mr. Ross, of Pennsylvania, representing the "Western 
element, offered the following resolution : — 

" Rt'solved, That we have an indisputable right to the free 
navigation of the river Mississippi and to a convenient place 
of deposit for the produce of the country and its merchan- 
dise in the island of Orleans. 

^^Besolved, That the President be authorized to take im- 
mediate possession of the country and to call into service the 
militin of the Western States." 

The difficulty was finally definitely settled by the action of 
President Jefi'erson in purchasing Louisiana; and in 1803 the 
people of the Western States were satisfied by having the 
Mississippi not only thrown open to them, but actually be- 
longing to the United States of America. 

SHIPMENTS FROM THE OHIO. 

The increase that had taken place in the population of the 
Upper Mississippi Valley in two decades is well shown in the 
shipments from that region to New Orleans during this 
period of contention. 

These shipments were, for 1801, for the districts of Ken- 
tucky and Mississippi alone, $1,026,672, and for all the 
American possessions $2,111,672. « 

In 1802 the shipments from Kentucky alone Avere $l,182,- 
864, and for the Ohio Valley and that portion of the Missis- 
sippi basin possessed by the United States — all from Bayou. 
Manchac up — including all Mississippi and portions of Lou- 
isiana and Tennessee, $2,637,564. 

Adding what is known of the products of Louisiana, the 



188 Gould's history of river navigatiox. 

commerce of the Lower Mississippi Valley, that is the ship- 
ments down the ^Mississippi toward New Orleans, either for 
consami)tion in the lower river country or for export, was in 
the first two years of the present century as follows: — 

Value op Exports 
BY River. 
1801. 1802. 

American territories : 

Peunsylvania and territory northwest of Ohio.... §485,000 $700,000 

Kentucky aucl Tennessee and Mississippi l,G2(J,l)72 1,52J,064 

Mississippi territory 412,500 

Spanisli possessions: 

Upper Louisiana 115,000 120,000 

Lower Louisiana 1,422,(550 1,720,800 

Total 83,649,322 .$4,475,364 

There are no records of the shipments up the river, but 
they were small as compared with the down trade, except for 
the country immediately around New Orleans. The imports 
at that city about equaled the exports of the Spanish posses- 
sions, and included such manufactured articles as could not be 
obtained in the colony. These were brought to New Orleans 
from France and Spain, and distributed among the towns and 
])lanters by l)arges, pirogues and plantation boats. Less than 
10 per cent of the imports found their way above Red River. 

The sliipments from New Orleans consisted of the follow- 
ing articles: 34,500 bales of cotton of an averasre Aveight 
of 300 pounds each, a much smaller bale than to-day; 4,500 
hogsheads of sugar of 1,000 pounds each; 800 casks of 
molasses of 125 gallons each, equal to 2,000 of the barrels 
used to-day in shipping molasses; 4,000 casks of tafia or 
rum made from Louisiana molasses, each of 50gallons; 3,000 
pounds of indigo, the cultivation of which had proved a fail- 
ure in Louisiana, and which was rapidly giving place to sugar; 
luml)er and boxes to the value of $300,000 ; peltries and 
skins to the value of $120,000 ; rice and other miscellaneous 
products to the value of $80,000. 

These were the products of Louisiana. 

Among the chief articles of Western produce received from 
the American territory were: 50,000 barrels of flour ; 2,000 
barrels of pork--; 1,200 barrels of beef; 2,400 hogsheads of 
tobacco; 25,000 bushels of corn. Besides, there were butter, 
hams, meal, lard, beans, hides, staves and cordage. 

From Pennsylvania, and, indeed, from some portions of 
Western New York, the woodsman or pioneer of that era 
loaded his flat-boat w ith the products of the season and began 
his voyage down the river to New Orleans. It was a trip of 



VALUE OF A FLAT-BOAT CARGO IN 1800. 189 

months of danger and exposure, for at least nine-tenths of the 
distance was wholl}- uninhabited by whites, and the Indians 
through all the river country were sullen and hostile. The 
Ohio Falls were passed with difficulty — generally during the 
high water — pilots being specially employed for this portion 
of the route. In the Mississippi itself were snags and dan- 
gers innumerable. When New Orleans was reached the pro- 
duce was sold for, say, $2,000 to $3,000, which was about the 
average value of a cargo. In the earlier days the land route 
was seldom followed home, as the Indians held all north- 
ern Mississippi ; but later this trail was popular, and the flat- 
boatman returned home across Lake Ponchartrain and thence 
northward through Nashville — a trail marked to this day. In 
the first years of the century, however, he generally went by 
sea to some of the American cities on the Atlantic coast, Bal- 
timore and , Philadelphia being the favorites, laid in a supply 
of calicoes and other manufactured goods there, and got home 
six months after his departure, just in time to plant another 
crop. 

VESSELS EMPLOYED IN RIVER TRADE. 

The vessels employed in the river trade had changed con- 
siderably during this period of development, and the rude 
pirogues and bateaux of the early French settlers had given 
place to the flat-boat or Kentucky boat and barge, and after- 
ward to the keel-boats of the Americans. The flat-boat of 
that day was a small affair, not one-tenth the size it attained 
half a century later. It averaged nearly 30 tons, and made 
the trip from Louisville or Cincinnati to New Orleans in 60 
days. The professional flat-boat men made but three trips a 
year, selling not only their produce in New Orleans, but their 
boats as well, when they were broken up for lumber. The 
cheapness of this means of transportation — for the building 
of one of these boats cost but $20 — made it admirably 
adapted to the condition of the country at the time. The 
flat-boat man, after selling out his cargo and boat in New 
Orleans, and probably having a spree there, returned home by 
way of Philadelphia, or, at a later day, tramped overland 
with what money he had left strapped around his waist. 

The first boats were built in the Mississippi Valley in 1787 
near Pittsburgh, when 30 bateaux, 40 feet long by 9 wide, 
were constructed for the Government for the transportation 
of troops and provisions. 

The trade of the Lower Mississippi, as will be seen, went 
almost wholly down stream. There were some few light ship- 



190 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ments up the river from New Orleans, but the bulk of the 
manufactured goods and sup})l;es needed by the settlers on 
the Ohio were obtained, not through New Orleans, but in the 
American cities on the Atlantic. • 

To carry the produce brought from the Western States 
away from New Orleans, there arrived at that port during the 
year 1(S02, the last but one of Spanish Dominion, 2G5 vessels 
of an aoo-reoate of 31,241 tons. These vessels, it is needless 
to say, were generally small sloops and schooners, the average 
being under 118 tons each, which would be looked on with 
contempt to-day. Yet it is gratifying to note that, although 
the government of Louisiana was in the hands of a European 
power, alien to the population, not only the Kentuckians, but 
the Louisiana Creoles as well, the outward trade of New 
Orleans was in the hands of the American merchant marine. 
Of the vessels arriving there 158 were American, 104 Spanish, 
and 3 French. The departures for the same year were 258 
vessels of 23,725 tons, of which 170 were American, 97 Span- 
ish, and 1 French. 

The next year, during which French and Spanish rule came 
to an end in the Mississippi Valley, saw still greater improve- 
ment, the total tonnage entering New Orleans being 42,817 
tons, and all of the vessels being tilled with Western and 
Louisiana produce. 

The down commerce of the Mississippi during the three first 
years of the century and the last of European control over 
the mouth of the great river, was us follows: — 

Freight Value of 

Year. received. products 

received. 
Tons. 

1801 38,325 $3,649,322 

1802 451006 4,475,364 

1803 49,660 4,720,015 

In the latter part of 1803 an event occurred which was des- 
tined to completely change the political and commercial future 
of the Mississippi Valley, and with it the whole history of the 
river changes. 

THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA. 

On Monday, December 20, 1803 Mr. Laussat, the French 
commissioner, turned over the province of Louisiana to the 
American representatives ; and the LTnited States became the 
owner of the entire Mississippi Valley, of which it had for- 
merly possessed barely a third. The news brought satisfaction 



napoleon's pkediction of the Mississippi valley. 191 

everywhere in America. At the hist moinont the European 
l)Owers recognized the importance of Louisiana, and the pos- 
session of the Mississippi. Napoleon, who arranged the sale 
for France, expressed great regret that he had to surrender 
its possession, and predicted that it would make the United 
{States one of the leading i)owers of the world. 

In this country the sentiment which seemed strongest was 
lejoicinof, not over the possession of the land so much as of 
the Mississippi, the control of its navigation and its outlet. 
To the ^^'estern people it was everything. With the millions 
of acres of public land then owned by the Government, there 
was no need, and indeed no desire for additional territory. 
What the people of the West wanted was the Mississippi. 
Without its possession the settlement and advance of the 
great interior country must have been slow until some outlet 
\vas found to the Atlantic sea-board. With it there was no 
limit to its development. 

President Jefferson himself took the Western view of the 
importance of the Mississippi, and thought its control would 
change the industrial and commercial condition of this country 
if not of the whole world. His prediction as to New Orleans 
as the port of the Mississippi Valley was credited by the 
merchants of that city for years ; and indeed it might have 
proved true but for the discovery of railroads. Writing to 
his newly appointed Governor of Louisiana, Claiborne, the 
President prophesied as follows: — 

" New Orleans will be forever, as it is now, the mighty 
mart of the merchandise brought from more than a thousand 
rivers, unless prevented by some accident in human affairs. 
This rapidly increasing city will, in no distant time, leave the 
emporia of the Eastern World far behind. With Boston, 
Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia on the left, Mexico on 
the right, Havana in front, and the immense valley of the 
Mississippi in the rear, no such position for the accumulation 
and perpetuity of wealth and power ever existed." 

If this prediction has not been fully realized in the eighty- 
odd years that have since passed it must be attributed to that 
accident which Mr. Jefferson foresaw. 

The receipts of produce by the river showed less increase 
during the first four years of the American dominion than 
was to be expected. 

1804 $4,275,000 

1805 • 4,371,545 

180H - .... 4,937,323 

1807 5,370,555 



192 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The arrivals of sea-fjoino; vessels durino; the latter year 
were 314, and the departures 350, with a tonnage of 43,220. 
The keel-boats and barges ariiving numbered 340, and the 
departures 11. The flat-boat arrivals were estimated at 1,500, 
but this is pi'obably an exaggeration. Besides these there 
were in use on the river ocean scows, pirogues, skiffs and 
floating lumber rafts. 

FLAT-BOATS AND KEEL-BOATS. 

The Kentucky boat of that day, in which much of the 
produce was carried to market, was nicknamed an ark, and 
the title was most appropriate, as in shape it was much like 
the ark seen in children's toys. Large oars or paddles were 
used, not to control or propel the boat, but to partially direct 
its course. These arks encountered many dangers and diffi- 
culties in their trips down the river, and the calculation is 
that at least one-fourth of them were lost en route. Above 
the mouth of the Arkansas, where the navigation of the river 
was worst, and where snags were plentiful, the arks were tied 
to the shore each night. In the lower river, however, where 
it was free from obstructions, they floated down as well by 
night as by day. The large oars were used mainly to keep 
them clear of the snags and sawyers. 

For the transportation of freight up stream various kinds 
of boats were used, but none of them can be said to have 
proved successful, and the tonnage up was barely 10 per 
cent, of that floating down. The system of rowing up the 
river and against the current was tried. It was slow, tedious 
and expensive. The boats coasted along the shore so as to 
avoid the full force of the current, but it required one oars- 
man for every 3,000 pounds of freight, and the work was so 
tiresome that the men rested every hour. To travel from 14 
to 30 miles a day was considered very good work. The river 
was crossed at the lower end of each bend, and in the crossing 
the current carried the boat down a half a mile or so. It is 
said by old boatmen that they were compelled to cross the 
Mississippi 390 times between New Orleans and Saint Louis. 
On some of the tril)utaries of the Mississippi, however, where 
the current was not so strong, as, for instance, the Ohio, a 
considerable traffic Avas carried on up-stream, no less than 
fifty boats of a tonnage of thirty tons each trafficking between 
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and making six trips a year. 

The keel-boat was of a long, slender and elegant form, and 
generally carried from 15 to 30 tons. Its advantage lay in its- 



NEW ORLEANS THE ONLY MARKET FOR THE VALLEY. 193 

Bmall drauofht of water and in the lio-htness of its construction. 
Its propelling power was by oar, sail, setting poles, the 
cordelle ; and when the water was high and the boats ran on 
the margin of the river, " bushAvhacking," or pulling up- 
stream by the bushes. 

The scow was used as a boat of descent for families travel- 
ing down the river for settlement, and had a roof or a cover- 
ing for it. These boats were frequently known as " sheds " 
in the vernacular. The Alleghany or Mackinaw skiff was a 
covered skiff carrying from B to 10 tons, and much used in 
the Illinois trade and the upper Mississippi and Missouri. 
Pirogues were sometimes hollowed from one very large tree 
or made from the trunks of two trees united and fitted with a 
plank run. They carried from 1 to 5 tons. There were 
common skiffs, canoes and dug-outs for the convenience of 
crossing the rivers, and a select company of a few travelers 
often descended in them to New Orleans. Besides these were 
a number of anomalous water craft that can scarcely be 
reduced to any class, used as boats of passage or descent, 
such as flat-boats worked by a wheel driven by cattle being 
conveyed to the New Orleans market. There were horse- 
boats of various constructions, used for the most part for 
ferry-boats, but sometimes as boats of ascent. Two keel- 
boats were connected by a platform. A pen in the center 
held the horses, which by a circular movement propelled the 
wheel. The United States troops frequently ascended the 
river by boats propelled by tread-wheel, and more than once 
a boat moved rapidly up-stream by wheel, after steamboat 
construction, propelled by a man turning a crank. 

But the boats of passage and conveyance most in fashion 
were the keel-boats and the flats. The flat-boats were called, 
in the vernacular, Kentucky flats or broad-beams. They were 
simply an oblong ark, with a roof slightly curved to shed the 
rain, about 15 feet wide and from 50 to 100 feet long. The 
timbers of the bottom were massive beams, and they were 
intended to be of great strength and to carry from 200 to 
400 barrels. Great numbers of horses, hogs and cattle were 
conveved to market in them. Family boats of this description, 
for the descent of families to the lower country, were fitted 
up comfortably with apartments, and in them ladies, servants, 
cattle, horses, sheep, dogs and poultry, all floating in the same 
bottom and under the same roof, were carried down the river. 
The largest barges, which were the best boats of these days, 
resembled a modern canal boat in appearance. At the stern 
was the poop-deck, which covered the cabin, and a stand for 

18 c 



194 Gould's history of river navigation. 

the patron or captain at the tiller-liead. There were two 
high masts and either hermai)hrodite brio; or schooner sail 
rio-o-ino;. When the bar2:e traveled up river it carried a larsfe 
crew of from 30 to 40 men, who propelled it against the 
current, by the use of warnifs, anchors and cordelles, at the 
rate of 15 miles a day, using canvas when the wind was fair. 
The 1,200 miles from New Orleans to the mouth of the Ohio 
were made in 100 days, and when a barge made it in ^Q days 
it was regarded as very quick time. The price of up-freight 
was 6 and afterwards 5 cents a pound, and there was not 
much profit in it at these figures. These barges were owned 
at the Ohio River towns, mainly at Pittsburgh, Wheeling, 
Marietta, Maysville, Cincinnati and Louisville. At Marietta 
several sea-going vessels were built and floated down the 
river to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The flat-boat men were general!}^ Kentuckians or Tennessee- 
ans, and they became to the Louisiana Creoles the type of an 
American, so that " Kaintuck " (Kentuckian) was used as a 
synonym for American among the native population. They 
were a sturdy race'of men, of splendid physique, indomitable 
energy and courage, somewhat wild, and ready for a spree 
when the}^ reached New Orleans. 

In those days just above the corporation limits of the town 
of New Orleans, where land has since formed, and where the 
wholesale trade of the city is principally carried on, the fleets 
of barges and flat-boats from the West moored and unloaded 
or retailed their contents at the water's edge. Farther down 
and immediately abreast of the town, between the upper 
limits and the Place d' Armes (now Jackson Square), at what 
is the sugar and ship landings of to-day, lay the shipping, 
averaging; some 20 or more vessels of from 100 to 200 tons 
each. 

THE TRADE OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

The Western people who shipped their produce down the 
river via New Orleans had many complaints to make against 
the tolls and charges at that city, and found that they did not 
enjoy all those advantages from the possession of the Missis- 
sippi which they had expected. 

The matter found its way into Congress, where Mr. Poin- 
dexter, of the Committee on Ways and Means, inquired into 
the expediency of prohibiting by law in " the corporation of 
the City of New Orleans from exacting any tax or duty on 
vessels, boats or other craft descending the river Mississippi 
having on board articles the growth or manufacture of the 



3srO. OF VESSELS PASSING THE FALLS OF THE OHIO IN 1810. 195 

United States, or such articles of foreijjn grrowth or raanu- 
facture as have been reguhirly imported into the United 
States." The resolution was carried and the City of New 
Orleans prohibited from exacting these tolls. A couple of 
years afterward the Legislature of Louisiana, with the same 
idea that the State had some control of the Mississippi because 
it lay within Louisiana territory, attempted to give a monopoly 
of the steam transportation of the river to a company, in 
which it also was defeated by a ruling of the Supreme Court. 

The Western produce trade had grown each year to be a 
large proportion of the total commerce of New Orleans. 

Between October 5, 1810, and May 5, 1811, there passed 
tiie Ohio Falls bound down stream to New Orleans, 847 ves- 
sels of one kind and another, mainly flat-boats, and the num- 
ber passing during the season is calculated at 1,200, with the 
following cargoes: — 

Articles. Quantity. 

Flour barrels, 206,855 

Bacon pounds, 1,008, 02fi 

Whisky barrels, 15,797 

€ider do 4,193 

Pork do 22,(i02 

Apples do 4,200 

Oats do 6,700 

Corn bushels, 79,795 

Merchandise $592,640 

Cheese boxes, 8,569 

Beans .* barrels, 1,010 

Lumber feet, 2,325,210 

Live hogs number 1,513 

Cider, royal barrels 2,250 

Butter pounds 41,151 

Lard do 775,692 

Onions barrels, 364 

Potatoes do 3,019 

Hemp cwt. 1,050,492 

Dried fruit barrels 442 

Yarn and cordage pounds 189,020 

Fowls number 2,012,224 

Shoe thread pounds 4,320 

Country linen do 13,066 

Horses 489 

Beer barrels, 459 

Tobacco hogsheads, 3,891 

These statistics, which were taken by the pilots engaged in 
piloting the vessels over the Ohio Falls, for three-fifths of the 
vessels passing that point of danger, and estimated for the re- 
mainder, which went over the falls during extrenie high water 
without a pilot, are in some respects more complete than 
many made afterwards when statistics of the river trade were 
much more carefully collected, for the later figures kept no 



196 Gould's history of river navigation. 

record of the number of fowls, horses, etc., sent down the 
river. 

The list of articles now sent to market gives some idea of 
the advance and development that has taken place on the 
Lower Mississippi with the advent of American rule. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE STEAMBOAT. 

The result of the transfer of Louisiana to the United States 
has been to greatly increase the population of the Mississippi 
Valley, as well as its trade; it was destined to still further 
change its condition by that great invention of American ge- 
nius, the use of steam as a means of moving vessels in water. 
Fulton had tried this with success on the Hudson, and aimed 
to experiment with it on that greater river, the Mississippi, 
Great doubts were expressed as to the possibility of navigat- 
ing it, on account of the velocity of the current, the many 
eddies and whirlpools, the danger from snags and other ob- 
structions. An agent, Nicholas Roosevelt, was accordingly 
sent ahead to make a preliminary survey of the river between 
Pittsburgh and New Orleans, to find whether the obstructions 
were of a serious character, such as were likely to prevent the 
passage of a small steamer. He reported that there was 
nothing to prevent the trip. The Orleans, or New Orleans, 
which was under construction at Pittsburgh, was accordingly 
completed and made ready for the trip in the latter part of 
1811. In this first steamboat the idea of marine architecture 
was preserved. She was Jbuilt after the model of a ship, with 
port-holes on the side, had a long bowsprit, and was painted 
sky-blue. Her cabm was in the hold. 

The steamboatmen of the Mississippi still delight to tell 
the story of this first cruise of a steamer down the " Father 
of Waters." The New Orleans was built at Pittsburgh in 
1811, at a cost of $38,000; was 116 feet long and 2(3 feet 
beam, with a 34-inch cylinder, and was a stern-wheeler. The 
trip commenced in September, with Roosevelt as superinten- 
dent, Mrs. Roosevelt — it was regarded as a very hazardous 
journe}^ for a woman — the captain, engineer, pilot, and a 
crew of six. All Pittsburgh turned out to bid the boat bon 
voyage, and when it reached Cincinnati on the second night 
and cast anchor there — for there were no regular wharf- 
boats or regular landings then — she was welcomed by the en- 
tire population. The New Orleans reached Louisville, Octo- 
ber 1, when it was found that she could not safely descend the 
Ohio Falls, as the water was too low. She accordingly re- 



THE NEW ORLEANS AT CINCINNATI AND LOUISVILLE. 197 

turned to Cincinnati, thereby proving that she could go up 
stream as well as down. In November, the river having risen, 
the New Orleans safely crossed the falls. She entered the 
Mississippi just about the time of the New Madrid earthquake, 
and arrived at Natchez in December, where she took on her 
first freight and passengers — she had been built for the 
Natchez and New Orleans trade — and arrived at New Orleans 
on the day before Christmas, 1811. The New Orleans at 
■once regularly entered the Natchez trade, and until she was 
sunk by striking a snag in the winter of 1814, ran regularly 
between the two places, making a great deal of money for her 
owners. On her first year's business she cleared $20,000 net — 
not bad on an investment of $38,000. Natchez at that time 
was the great depot on the Mississippi for the overland trade 
from the North and East. 

In Kramer's Almanac in 1813 is siven a letter describing a 
trip up the river on the New Orleans, in which it is said : — 

" The present boat does business to real advantage, and is 
owned by Fulton & Livingston, of New York. She performs 
a regular route from Natchez to New Orleans in three days, 
and returns in four. The passage descending is $18, and as- 
cending $25. I descended in the boat in March, 1812, in 
thirty-two hours." 

The first experiment with steam in the navigation of the 
Western rivers created surprise and excitement, but it did not 
give complete satisfaction. The truth is that it was neither a 
perfect success, nor yet a failure. The growing commerce of 
the river demanded something better than the fiat-boats and 
barges, and the merchants and mechanics of the valley having 
the necessary means and animated by the spirit of enterprise, 
did not hesitate to continue to experiment in the hope of 
finally solving the problem of steam navigation, the Missis- 
sippi and its tributaries. The experimental period lasted for 
five years. In that time nine expensive steamboats were built, 
and while each succeeding boat was a decided advance on that 
which preceded it, defects and improvements being suggested 
by practical experience, steam navigation was not regarded as 
an assured success until 1817, when the steamboat Washing- 
ton made the trip from New Orleans to Louisville in twenty- 
five days. The trouble all along had been to stem the current 
successfully, and this trouble the indomitable pluck and en- 
ergy of the merchants and the skill of the mechanics finally 
accomplished. With 1817, therefore, may be said to begic 
the era of successful steam navigation on the Mississippi. 

The difficulty of vessels stemming the current of the rivei 



198 Gould's history of river navigation. 

induced those who were interested in steam navigation to sug- 
gest a system of relays such as Fulton and Livingston had 
originally designed, the river being divided up into sections. 
Then one boat was to run from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, an- 
other from Cincinnati to Louisville, a third from Louisville to 
Smithland, a fourth from Smithland to Natchez, and another 
from Natchez to New Orleans, the passengers and freight to 
be transferred at each point. This ingenious plan of continu- 
ally loading and unloading was never carried out, for before 
it had been perfected the problem of stemming the current 
was solved. The Washington, to which this solution is due, 
was the sixth boat built on the Mississippi River. She was a 
high-pressure steamer, with four single-flue boilers, and was 
built at Wheeling, in 1816. She left there July 5 and arrived 
in New Orleans October 17, 1816. It was on her return trip 
to Louisville that she demonstrated very clearly the possibil- 
ity of ascending the river with steam. The trip of the Wash- 
ington to Louisville was by far the most rapid made, up to 
that day. The following is her record : Left New Orleans, 
March ii4; reached Natchez, March 29; reached mouth of 
Arkansas River, April 5; reached Chickasaw Bluff (Mem- 
phis), April 7 ; reached New Madrid, April 10; reached mouth 
of Ohio River, April 11; reached Falls of Ohio (Louisville), 
April 17. 

The trip of the Washington established another point of the 
very greatest advantage to the river country — that the Mis- 
sissippi was the heritage of the people and could not be mo- 
nopolized by any one. A company had been formed, at the 
head of which were Fulton and Livingston, who had made the 
first experiments with steam on the Ohio and Mississippi. This 
company obtained from the Louisiana legislature an act giving 
them the exclusive right of navigating the waters of Louisi- 
ana with steam-vessels for fourteen years, with the privilege 
of renewing their charter at the end of that time. Any one 
violating'jthis monopoly was subject to a fine of $500. The 
company owned the JEtna, Vesuvius, and Orleans, and had 
arranged for a system of transfers at Louisville. The trip of 
the Washington to New Orleans was in defiance of this law, 
and that steamboat was accordingly seized when she arrived at 
"the Crescent City." The United States court swept away 
the monopoly, declared that the river was the heritage of the 
whole people, that the State of Louisiana could not control it 
and give its navigation to any company or monopoly. This 
decision naturally gave a grent impetus to steamboat building. 



VESUVIUS AT THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 199 

and the next few vears saw all the Ohio towns turningr out 
steamboats. 

At the end of 1813, there were, according to Kramer's Al- 
manac, eleven steamboats in the whole country, three build- 
ing about Pittsburgh to complete the line between that town 
and New Orleans, and one small boat to carry wheat and corn 
on the Monongahela. The closing career of the New Orleans 
was in carrying reinforceiients and munitions to Jackson's 
army, just before the battle of New Orleans. In 1814, three 
years after her construction, the New Orleans was sunk by 
a snag. She was tied to the bank at night. The river fell, 
and in the morning, it was found that the boat was snagged. 

Following the Comet came the Vesuvius built at Pittsburgh 
in April, 1814, by Robert Fulton. She was of 480 tons bur- 
den, and made the trip to Louisville, 767 miles, in sixty-seven 
hours, from Louisville to Natchez in one hundred and twenty 
five hours, aad from Natchez to New Orleans in thirty-three, 
making the whole distance in two hundred and twenty-seven 
hours, or 9^ miles an hour, not bad speed when the circum- 
stances are considered. The Vesuvius also figured at the 
battle of New Orleans. 

In 1814 the fourth steamboat on the Mississippi, the Enter- 
prise, was built at Brownsville, reaching New Orleans the 
latter part of December, just in time to be pressed into serv- 
ice at the battle of New Orleans. The Enterprise was the 
first boat to reach Cincinnati from New Orleans, getting there 
in 1815, in twenty-eight days. She was a small vessel of only 
35 tons. Some idea of the times is given by the fact, that 
the price of passage on this boat from New Orleans to Cincin- 
nati was $130, and from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, $30. 

RIVER TRAFFIC. 

The river traffic of 1814 shows that the steamboats had so 
far made but little impression. Transportation by steamboat 
was still an experiment. There arrived at New Orleans that 
year: — 

Number. Tonnage. 

Flatboats 598 1 oo o en 

iJarges 324/ ^^'^^^ 

Steamboats 21 2,098 

These steamboats were three in number, the New Orleans,. 
Vesuvius, and Enterprise. The steamboat tonnage of New 
Orleans was but little over 2 per cent, of the total. 



200 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The sea-going vessels, leaving New Orleans tbatj'^ear, num- 
bered 351, of 81,180 tons, as follows: Ships, 188; brigs, 95; 
schooners, 52. 

The principal products received from the interior were as 
follows : — 

Articles. Quantity. 

Cotton bales 58,220 

Corn bushels 11(),872 

Flour : barrels 73,820 

Sugar hogsheads 1 1,C40 

Molasses gallons 482,500 

Pork barrels 7,226 

Eice ,. do 7,500 

Tafia gallons 142,800 

Tobacco hogsheads 6,210 

Whisky barrels 16,200 

In 1815 still another steamer, the Buffalo, was built at 
Pittsburgh, which Livingston and Fulton proposed to run to 
the Falls of the Ohio, where she could connect with their large 
steamer Vesuvius, from New Orleans. 

A curious fact, in regard to the river and its tributaries at 
this time, is, that the navigable streams are estimated as of so 
much greater extent than to-day. Notwithstanding the fact 
that the Federal Government has been at work improving 
many of them, the mileage considered opened to navigation in 
the year 1816 was much greater then, than now. In a book 
published at this time the total extent of rivers tributary to 
the Mississippi, entirely within the area of Louisiana, is esti- 
mated at 5,762 miles, double what it is to-day. Indiana is 
put down for 2,487 miles of tributary streams, Illinois, 3,094; 
Kentucky, 2,487, and Mississippi 2,902, a total of these five 
States of 13,732 miles of navigation, whereas, they are esti- 
mated to-day, as possessing only 7,650 miles. Streams never 
used by vessels now were then regarded as navigable because, 
during certain seasons of high water they were able to float 
flat-boats out to the main river, the produce being thus carried 
to market. 

The return trade, that is a supply of the articles of European 
make, still came principally by way of the East from New 
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore overland from Pittsburgh. 
Nor did the discovery of steam as a motive power for river 
boats cause much change. New Orleans increased its ship- 
ments up the river when a better means of stemming the, cur- 
rent was discovered, but the bulk of its shipments were cheap 
and heavy products. The Southern States received supplies 
of Western produce, pork, grain, flour, etc. ; the Western 



ALL GOODS FOR THE WEST BOUGHT AT NEW ORLEANS. 201 

towns, like Cincinnati and Saint Louis, coffee, sugar, etc. 
The trade in dress goods, and the finer manufactured articles 
was mainly with the East, Thanks to steamboats, however, 
the business of New Orleans in this direction, although much 
less than it ought to be, considering its receipts of produce, 
showed great increase, and one singular fact is observable in 
this trade, showing how much influence the origin of a people 
will have upon their commerce. With the exception of some 
Philadelphians, who established themselves in New Orleana 
ju8t before the purchase of Louisiana, a majority of its mer- 
chants, particularly the importers, were Creole or French, 
who preferred to get their goods from France rather than from 
England. As a result, the Kentuckians and Tennesseans of 
seventy years ago were supplied from New Orleans, mainly, 
with French print, broadcloths, and other dress goods, where- 
as the bulk of the people on the Atlantic wore almost wholly 
the produce of British looms. The early French influence 
made itself felt throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley un- 
til about the time of the outbreak of the war, and in many 
portions of the river country the demand was for French 
rather than English goods. 



202 Gould's history of river navigation. 

CHAPTEE XXXVI. 

IMMIGRATION INTO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 

IT was just about the time of the discovery of steam as a 
motive power for steamboats that a new tide of immigra- 
tion started from the Atlantic coast to the river country. 
There had been a rapid growth of the population of the valley 
from the date of the purchase of Louisiana, but between 1810 
and 1820 that movement received a new impetus — probably 
due to the war of 1812. This movement went down the Ohio- 
and into all the region tributary to it and to the Mississippi, 
both the upper and the lower portions. The immigrant guide- 
books of those days — of which there were many — declare 
the river route preferable, as being cheaper, more rapid, and 
more satisfactory than traveling across the country where there 
were few, if any roads. The river bottoms both of the Ohio 
and Mississippi Rivers were then regarded as very unliealthy 
and dangerous sections, and the immigrant was advised not to 
start on his trip until in the fall, after the frosts had killed the 
malaria. The guide-books describe the rivers as being very 
unpleasant during the summer season, with offensive odors 
coming from the shores. The immigrants were also warned 
against drinking river water before filtering or boiling it. On 
flat-boats and pine rafts, the latter being deemed the better 
plan, thousands of settlers drifted down the rivers each year, 
and in the short space of a decade the population of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley doubled. 

RECEIPTS OF PRODUCE. 

The receipts of New Orleans during the first year of suc- 
cessful steam navigation, 1816, amounted in value to $8,062,- 
540. The character of produce received will furnish an ex- 
cellent comparison for subsequent years by showing the linea 
of goods in which a trade was developed. 

Articles. Quantity. 

Apples barrels 4,253 

Beef do 2,459- 

Beans do 439 

Bagging pieces 2,57i) 

Bacon and hams cuts 1 ,300 

Butter pounds 509 

Caudles . boxes 35^ 



RECEll'TS OF PRODUCE AT NEW OELlEANS • 203 

Articles. Quantity. 

Cheese cwts 30 

Cider barrels 646 

Cordage cwts 400 

Cordage baling coils 4,798 

Corn busliels 13,775 

Corn-meal .barrels 1,075 

Cotton bales 37,371 

Flaxseed oil barrels 85 

Flour do 97,419 

Ginseng do 957 

Hair bundles 35() 

Hemp-yarn reels 1,095 

Hides number 5,000 

Horses number 375 

Hogs do 600 

Lead cwts 5,500 

White lead barrels 188 

Linens, coarse pieces 2,500 

Lard barrels 2,458 

Oats bushels 4,065 

Faper reams 7.00 

Peltries packages 2,450 

Pork barrels 9,725 

Potatoes do 3,750 

Powder - do 294 

Saltpeter cwts 175 

Soap boxes 1,538 

Tallow cwts 160 

Tobacco..' hhds 7,282 

Manufactured barrels 711 

Tobacco' carrots 8,200 

Whisky gallons 320,000 

Bear-skins number 2,000 

Besides horned cattle, indigo, muskets, grindstones, pecan 
nuts, and beans. 

This is independent of the produce raised in Louisiana, such 
as cotton, corn, indigo, molasses, rice, sugar, tafia or rum, 
and lumber. These were brought to the market in the plant- 
ers' crafts, and often taken from the plantation direct in for- 
eign-bound vessels, a ship loading directly with sugar and 
molasses, which thus never went through New Orleans. But 
little account was taken of this system in the commercial re- 
ports of the time, although sea-going vessels ascended the 
river as far as Natchez for cargoes. They were, of course, of 
small size, of but little more tonnage and draught than the 
steamboats themselves. 

The value of receipts shows to what extent the produce of 
the West passed through New Orleans. Cotton, which in later 
days rose to be 60 and even 75 per cent, in value of all the 
receipts, was then barely 12 per cent. At least 80 per cent 
of the articles came from the West, that is, from the Ohio and 
the Upper Mississippi, above the Ohio. They represented- 



204 Gould's history of river navigation. 

the surplus products of the Mississippi Valley, for but little 
found any other exit to market. Much of the produce shipped 
from the West to New Orleans was lost en route. A rough 
estimate places the loss from disasters, snags, etc., at 20 per 
cent. Many boats, moreover, stopped along the river on their 
way down to sell supplies to the planters. Thus, at Natchez, 
flour, grain, and pork were purchased from the Kentucky 
boats. 

From these losses and sales the shipments down the river in 
1816, including the products of Louisiana, may be estimated 
at $13,875,000. 

The river traffic required 6 steamboats, 594 barges, and 
1,287 flat-boats, of a total tonnage of 87,670. 

The effect of the use of steamboats in the river trade was 
soon seen in a large increase in the shipments of produce. 
The value of the receipts at New Orleans shows the following 
advance in the next half-dozen years : — 

VALUE OF PRODUCE RECEIVED AT NEW ORLEANS FROM THE 

INTERIOR. 
Years. Amount. 

1815-16 # 9,749,253 

US] 6-17 8,773,379 

1J!17-18 13,501,036 

1818-19 16,771,711 

1819-20 12,637,079 

1820-21 11 ,967,067 

From 1802 the down commerce of the lower river had grown 
in 1818, sixteen years, more than fourfold. The trade up the 
river during the same period had been multiplied threefold. 

The year succeeding the introduction of steamboats, 1817, 
New Orleans chronicled a large increase in its receipts of pro- 
duce, as follows; — 

Articles. Quantity. 

Cotton bales 59,826 

Sugar hogsheads 10,642 

Molasses gallons 486,320 

Tobacco hogsheads 7,412 

Do carrots 9,862 

Flour barrels 95,325 

Eice do 9,320 

Beans do 3,896 

Beef do 5,122 

Pork do 4,382 

Bacon pounds 713,382 

Bagging pieces 9,825 

Whisky gallons 262,328 

Gin do 50,250 

Tafla (rum) gallons 18,600 

Beer barrels 826 



VALUE AND QUANTITY OF PRODUCE, CONTINUED. 205 

Articles. Quantity. 

Cider barrels 925 

Apples do 563 

Potatoes do 5,642 

Lard pounds 256,600 

Soap boxes 9,860 

Candles do 2,200 

Castings kettles, etc. 226,000 

Lead cwts 6,213 

Bark cords 4,000 

Tar barrels 6,580 

Pitch do 3,263 

Hogs number 1,227 

The receipts for the following year show an improvement in 

nearly all lines, and a greater variety in the class of articles 
received, or at least noticed, for in these first commercial re- 
ports many products were altogether overlooked: — 

Articles Quantity. 

Beans barrels 3,643 

Cotton bales 65,223 

Sugar hogsheads 21,115 

Bacon cwts 18,620 

Pork hogsheads 813 

Do barrels 22,225 

Bark cords 4.000 

Beef barrels 6,142 

Beer do 306 

Butter kegs 1,825 

Candles boxes 2, 150 

Cider barrels 520 

Corn bushels 145,200 

Cordage cwts 4,350 

Flour barrels 197,620 

Gin gallons 50,250 

Ginseng barrels 1,200 

Hay tons 40 

Hides sides 6,200 

Hogs 1,200 

Lard barrels r 412 

Lard cwts "'^ 6,738 

Molasses gallons 1,126,500 

Oil barrels 4,200 

Onions barrels 4,220 

Paper reams 426 

Peltries packages 3,550 

Pitch barrels 3,200 

Rice do 9,265 

Skins, bear's number 3,000 

Soap boxes 2,576 

Starch do 125 

Tafia gallons 42,026 

Tallow cwts 206 

Tar barrels 837 

Tobacco hogsheads 8,642 

Do carrots 1,600 

Tobacco, manufactured boxes 154 

Wax, bee's cwts 320 

Wheat bushels 95,650 

Whisky gallons 256,610 ■ 



206 Gould's history of river navigation. 

This includes, it will be seen, the produce of LouisiMna as 
well as that of the upper country. The Louisiana products 
amount in value to 28 per cent of the whole. Of the remain- 
der, fully 61 per cent, come from what is known as the West. 
In the last few days of Spanish rule in Louisiana over 40 per 
cent, in value of the receipts at New Orleans had come from 
that colony. The West was rapidly increasing in population, 
and New Orleans was securing all the new trade thus opened. 
It was as much a Western as a Southern city. 

The commerce of the upper States was monopolized by the 
Americans. Indeed, before the colony was purchased by the 
United States a large proportion of the merchants of New Or- 
leans were citizens of that country. The first American mer- 
chants had come from Philadelphia, and the commercial in- 
terests of New Orleans and the Mississippi Valley were in 
consequence more closely allied for years with " the Quaker 
City." 

STEAMBOAT BUILDING. 

From the day that the problem of successful steam naviga- 
tion not only down the stream with the current, but up stream, 
was solved by the Washington, steamboat building was active- 
ly carried on, and new steamers were added each year to the 
river fleet. 

The steamer Eamapo was built in New York in 1820. She 
was originally a schooner of 146 tons burden. She had a low- 
pressure engine, and was the first boat to run between New 
Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Manhattan, of 42(i tons, was 
built also in New York, and had low-pressure engines. She 
ran for several years between New Orleans and Louisville. 
The Feliciana, 407 tons, low-pressure, was built in Philadel- 
phia, and was the first regular packet to Bayou Sara. In 
1821 the Mobile, 145 tons, low-pressure, was built at Ames- 
bury, Mass., to run between New Orleans and Mobile. The 
United States, 645 tons, was built at New Albany. She was 
floated to this city for her machinery, which had been re- 
ceived from England. She was the wonder of her day, and 
was called The Mammoth. She was not a paying investment, 
owing to her complicated machinery. The Car of Commerce, 
221 tons, was built at Freeport, Pa. She was considered re- 
markable in her dav, having; made the run to Shawneetown in 
twelve days. The Henry Clay, built at Newport, Ky., and 
the Paragon, built at Cincinnati, were also fast, making 
Louisville in sixteen days. The Mississippi, 372 tons, was 
built at Blakely, Ala., in 1820. Capt. H. S. Buckner was her 



NAMES OF STEAMBOATS IN 1823. 207 

commander. Finding her too heavy and unwieldy for the 
lake trade, Captain Buckner brought her around and ran her 
to points on the Mississippi. 

Besides the above boats mentioned there was built the 
Eclipse, Phoenix, Florence, Scioto, Pennsylvania, Andrew 
Jackson, Fanny, Caledonia, Fidelity, ^lars. Leopard, Bell 
Creole, Swan, Superior, Venture, Natchez, Kobert Fulton, 
Balize, Spartan, Magnet, Steubenville, Missouri, Rambler, 
General Pike, Fayette, Kob Roy, Paul Chase, Robert Emmet, 
Belvidere, George Washington, William Penn, Bolivar, Con- 
gress, General Wayne, Tecumseh, Paul Jones, Tuscumbia, 
Philadelphia, Hibernia, Hercules, Commerce, Aerial, Liber- 
ator, Planter, Helen McGregor, Post Boy, Marietta, Louis- 
ville, Columbia, Huntress, General Coffee, Virginia, Ontario, 
Decatur, Lexington, Messenger, Governor Hamilton, Dolphin, 
Patriot, Emerald. The Fanny Avas a schooner propelled by 
steam. The Natchez was built at New York. Capt. H. S. 
Buckner bought and run her to Natchez. She made the run 
there in three days. The Hercules and Post Boy were tow 
boats between New Orleans and the Balize. 

The three packet-boats were the Paul Jones, Tecumseh, and 
Philadelphia. They were single-engine boats, and their time 
to Louisville was twelve days. 

In 1821 there arrived at New Orleans — 

287 steamboats of a tonnage of 54,120 

And flat-boats, barges, etc., of a tonnage of 52,750 

This made the total river tonnage 106,870. The barges and 
flat-boats had fallen off both in numbers and tonnage, and the 
steamboats were in a lead that they have since kept. 

Within a decade the steamboat had firmly established itself 
on the river, and was an acknowledged success. 

The Louisiana Advertise?' speaks as follows on the subject 
in 1823: — 

*' It is now nine years since the first steamboat was evolved 
at the port of New Orleans, since which period up to the pres- 
ent time eighty-nine different steamboats have been evolved at 
this port. The first boat was lost in 1814, and up to the 
present time there have been twenty-three other boats lost, 
either by sinking, destroyed by fire, decayed or condemned, 
forming in the aggregate about 4,000 tons, and leaving a bal- 
ance, say, of 14,000 tons. This 14,000 tons does not employ 
more than 1,000 men and can do more in a given time than 
50,000 tons could have done in barges, keel-boats, or any 
other kind of vessels employed ten years ago with 20,000 



208 Gould's history of river navigation. 

hands. The rapid increase of steamboats had very soon the- 
uatural tendency of reducing freights, and, although the own- 
ers suffer severely from this cause in the consequent diminu- 
tion in the value of the vessels, yet the country at large has 
been greatly benefited by their introduction, and it is to be 
hoped the number in existence can be more beneficially em- 
ployed." 

The amount of products that descended the Ohio during this 
time was estimated at 68,932 tons. 

Of the goods that went down the Lower Mississippi, one- 
half came from the Ohio and its tributaries. Indeed, up to 
this time the settlements in the West and South had been re- 
stricted mainly to the Ohio basin, and comparatively few per- 
sons had yet established themselves on the Lower or Upper 
Mississippi, or on the Missouri, Arkansas, White, or other 
tributaries on the west. 

It cannot, however, be said that they were a success or 
proved themselves equal to the emergencies of the river. 
There was a decided disposition in the early days of the river 
navigation to follow too closely the habit of the sea, and to 
pretend that the Mississippi was an interior ocean. The cap- 
tains, for instance, having been accustomed when at sea to 
issue their orders through a trumpet, necessary there, to make 
them heard in the roar of the waves and the storm, still in- 
sisted upon using the trumpet upon the quiet waters of the 
Mississippi, and shouted stentoriously through the trumpet at 
their mates but a few feet distant, with all the worst nautical 
oaths and expressions. It was not until years afterwards that 
the simple process of giving orders by meajas of bells was 
adopted. 

The boats were small compared to those which now do the 
carrying trade of Western rivers. Indeed, there does not 
seem to have been a very great increase in their size for many 
years. It is mentioned by reliable authority that as late as 
1846 the smallest boats were about 120 tons burden, and the 
largest, not more than 500 tons. The largest boats now are 
from 2,500 to 3,000 tons burden. Although the increase, 
in the size of boats was slow, great pains were taken to make 
them attractive to passengers. The travel on the river waS| 
then \ery large and profitable, and it became necessary to eaten 
to the wants of the traveling public. The saloons wereele-j 
gantly furnished, and the table was provided with every deli-] 
cacy which the season and the market afforded. 

The accommodations and comforts of the boats of aquarteri 
a century and more ago are still remembered and spoken of 



NUMBER AND SIZE OF FLAT-BOATS. 209 

in glowing terms. They were no doubt very superior for those 
times, but they were hardly equal to those of the boats of the 
present day. The wants of the traveling public are greater now 
than then and their tastes more luxurious. 

It is somew^hat strange to hear the papers talk of the great 
cheapening of freights caused by the first steamboats, when 
we learn the rates from points above to New Orleans in 1819 
was 3 cents a pound ; a few years previous they had ranged 
from 4 to 6 cents. Passage by steamboat from Louisville to 
New Orleans was $100 when money was worth twice what it is 
to-day. Deck passage was $18, but the economical passenger 
could make it less by helping to wood the boat at the wood- 
yards scattered along the bank. 

The flat-boats on the river increased in size with the 
steamboats. About four-fifths of them reached New Or- 
leans, the others being lost en route or selling out at some way 
town. The hay flat-boats of Indiana of 1820-26 were 50 feet 
long, 16 feet wide, and carried about 30 tons of hay, ranging 
in price from $15 to $30. In 1832-33 the size of these boats 
began to increase; one 90 feet long and 18 wide, carrying 102 
tons, cost $170 to build. They finally reached the size of 150 
feet long by 24 wide, carrying 300 tons of produce. Flat-boats, 
when run to New Orleans for years, were broken up and houses 
built of them, the gunw'ales being cut up, and the streets and 
sidewalks paved with them. Some time between 1855 and 
1860 the boats began to be towed back from all the ports 
along the river, especially the coal-boats and coal barges. 
The empty boats sold in New Orleans for from $30 to $200, 
increasing in price from $30 up to $200 in 1861, when the; 
war stopped flat-boating. The price of hands to go down on 
flat-boats from Aurora to New Orleans was $10 to $30 per trip, 
the pilots usually receiving from $50 to $200. This was the 
price from the commencement of boating to the commence- 
ment of the war. 

In the early days of boating, boatmen received gold and sil- 
ver for their produce. Later they received gold, silver, and 
United States paper, and inbringinghome their gold and silver, 
they messed together and put their money in a barrel, and one 
stood watch over it at a time, day and night, on the deck of a 
steamboat, as nearly all boatmen traveled " on deck." 

Nearly half the cotton, all the tobacco and most of the 
provisions came through the Ohio. The Upper Mississippi 
furnished most of the furs and skins, the lead, etc.; the 
(Lower Mississippi cotton, sugar, molasses, etc. 

Of these products, the majority came from the Ohio basin, 

14 



210 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

then the most thickly settled part of the Mississippi Valley. 
Taking the period 1822-2t) as a basis, the following would be 
about the pro]iortion of the traffic enjoyed b}'" the several 
districts constituting the great valley: — 

Ohio basiu 49 

Upper Mississippi 9 

Lower Mississippi 42 

These dry statistics tell the story of the settlement of the 
Mississipiii Valley, its civilization, development and advance 
and the commercial changes that have taken place in it. The 
deer skins, the venison hams, the bear oil, peltries and furs, 
which form so important an article in the early receipts, soon 
disai)pear to give place to agricultural and afterwards to 
manufactured products. During the days of the French 
dominion the most important ex})orts of the vallc}" were the 
produce of the chase. Next came rough lumber for the man- 
ufacture of sugar boxes for Cuba; then raw agricultural 
products; afterwards articles like pork, tlour and others that 
required some process of treatment. As yet the manufactured 
articles ex})ortcd were few, being of the simplest character, 
such as bagging, rope, twine, candles. 

PRINCIPAL SHIPPING TOWNS. 

At this date the most important lines of trade — those 
requiring the most vessels — were with Nashville, Bayou 
La Fourche, Natchez and Louisville. Natchez was a 
more important river point than Vicksburg, being the center 
of a populous district, and gave employment to three 
times as many steamboats. Nashvillle, as the center of the 
rich tobacco country of Tennessee and Kentucky, sent more 
steamboats to New Orleans than any town in that section. 
On the Ohio, Louisville was the most important point, very 
few steamers ascending higher on account of the falls. If a 
steamer went above Louisville she generally continued up to 
Pittsburgh. 

The Saint Louis and Upper ^Mississippi Kiver trade with 
New Orleans was as yet insignificant, but few persons having 
penetrated into that region. On the Tennessee River boats 
ran as high as Florence, but when the water rose flat-boats 
poured out bj' the hundred, laden with the cotton of north 
Alabama and the tobacco of Tennessee. 

On the ^Mississippi the other most important shipping points 
besides Natchez were Bayou Sara and Baton Rouge. Vessels 
ran up the Ouachita, but no higher up the Red than Natchi- 
toches on account of the raft. 



FLAT-BOATS BEING SUPERSEDED. 211 

The flat-boats came from all the upper country. The great 
majority of them were from the Ohio and its tributary. The 
Cumberland and Tennessee sent out hundreds laden with 
cotton and tobacco, the Ohio proi)er with apples, corn, flour, 
coal, etc. A majority of the flats at this time were from the 
Southern States, but this soon changed, and Indiana and Ohio 
were in the lead. The flat-boat traffic, except that of the 
districts immediately around New Orleans, was confined to a 
few months of the year. The boats waited for a rise in the 
river and came down with the high water. During January 
and February two-thirds of the flats arrived in New Orleans, 
as many as 75 in a single week. The flat-boats were cheaply 
made, and were broken up and sold for lumber in the city. 
Keel-boats were going rapidly out of favor. The up-freight 
of the river was much smaller than that down, and the steam- 
boats could easily handle all of it ; hence the keel-boats were 
superfluous and were no longer needed to carry freight up the 
country. A few still ran in the rivers of Arkansas and some 
of the States west of the Mississippi, but they were disap- 
pearing. The bateaux were altogether gone, save in the very 
wildest and most rugged portions of the Indian country, and 
but few of these arrived at New Orleans, with their cargoes of 
deer and bear skins. The market-boats were of the flat-boat 
order, dropping down the river from point to point, and 
trading, selling the planters and farmers Western provisions 
or trading it off for cotton and the products of the country. 

The sugar, rice, etc., of the country immediately around 
New Orleans was brought to the city in pirogues, skiffs or 
boats made from solid logs. Each planter had his boat, and, 
although it was small, he could send his crop to market in 
it — a few hogsheads or bales at a time. But little record 
was kept of these arrivals at New Orleans, and hence the 
earlier records, while showing accurately how much corn, 
beef and other produce of the Upper Mississippi Valley was 
received, gave no record whatever of the receipts of Louisiana 
sugar, molasses or rice. A striking incident of the river 
commerce of those days was the large number of sailing 
vessels, sloops, schooners, and afterwards luggers, engaged in 
it. Nearly all the produce of the country below New Orleans 
was brought to the city in this way; and the sailing vessels 
ran even as high as Natchez, bringing down cotton and suo^ar 
from " the upper coast." 

In 1825, nine years after the success of the steamboat, it 
had passed all competition, and the greater portion of the 
produce of the lower Mississippi Valley was brought to market 



212 Gould's history of river navigation. 

in it. In 1826 57 per cent, of the freight was carried to New 
Orleans by the steamboats and only 43 per cent, by other 
means. 

The following arrivals during the season 1825-26 (the 
commercial year then began in New Orleans and throughout 
the South October 1 ; it has since been changed to September 
1) gives some idea of the variety of crafts employed upon 
the river ; — 

ARRIVALS in 1825-26. 

Class. Number. 

Steamboats. 715 

Flat-boats 981 

Keel-boats 57 

Schooners and sloops 108 

Pirogues 101 

Market-boats 25 

Bateaux la 

Total 2,000 

While the steamboats had greatly increased in number — 
threefold in four years — it will be seen that they had not yet 
driven out the flat-boat. Quite the contrary. The flat-boats 
also had increased largely. On the other hand, there was a 
material falling off in the number of keel-boats in use. The 
flat-boats were cheap, offered a cheap means of carrying 
bulky freight to markket, and, moreover, they carried out a 
great deal of produce from the smaller streams where the 
steamboats could not go or where they did not care to take 
the risk of snags and sawyers. 

The average tonnage of the river vessels in 1831 was 240 
tons, and of the sea-going vessels running from New Orleans,. 
437. The steamboats, however, were constantly and rapidly 
increasing in size, whereas the sea-g-oino; vessels increased 
more slowly, so that in 1845 the two were about the same 
tonnage, and a ship could carry away from New Orleans just 
the cargo that one steamboat could bring there. 

losses on the river. 

From the very start the steamboats had met with many 
disasters. The sixth boat built for the river traffic, con- 
structed at Brownsville in 1815, ran aground on her way 
down the river and burst her boiler — a disaster by which ten 
or twelve lives were lost. 

Even more disastrous were the snags with which both the 
Ohio and the Mississippi were filled. An appeal was made ta 



CAPTAIN SHREVE AND THE SNAG-BOATS. 213 

Congress in 1820 to remove them, but it declined to take any 
action. 

From 1822 to 1827 the loss in the Ohio and Mississippi 
Rivers by snags alone, including steam and flat-boats and 
their cargoes, amounted to $1,362,500. From 1827 to 1832, 
when quite a number of snags were removed, these losses 
were greatly reduced, and did not exceed $381,000. In the 
latter year, 1832, in consequence of the successful working of 
the snag-boats, not a single boat was lost. 

From 1833 to 1838 the Secretary of the Treasury reported 
that 40 steamboats had been snagged on the Mississippi, and 
damage inflicted amounting to fully $(340,000. This was 
probably far below the true figures. 

In 1839 the total loss of boats in the river was 40, of which 
^ were snagged, 7 struck on rocks and other obstructions, the 
total loss amounting to $448,000. 

The first steps taken by the Government to improve the 
navigation of the river were in 1829, when Captain Shreve, a 
prominent steamboat man, was employed to remove the snags 
which had caused such a heavy loss of vessels. The system 
pursued in their removal was to run down the snags with a 
double steamboat, the bows of which were protected with 
heavy beams plated with iron. A heavy head of steam was 
put on and the snags run down. 

Captain Shreve did good work with this improvement, but 
he followed it up soon afterwards with a very unfortunate 
improvement that has given trouble ever since. Filled with 
the idea generally current at the time that it would be well to 
straighten out the river and shorten navigation, a channel was 
cut across one of the great bends just above the mouth of 
Eed River, by which a distance of 30 miles w\as saved. This 
was known as Shreve' s cut-off. Five days afterwards bars 
were formed at the mouth of Red River, at both entrances of 
the bend, leaving only 3 feet on one and 3^ on the other. 
On these bars dredge-boats were brought to work, but the 
(bars have proved troublesome to this day. 



214 Gould's history of river navigation. 



EIVER TRADE OF NEW ORLEANS, 1813-1841. 

Arrivals 

Tear ending September 30. of steam Freight Value of 

boats. received.* produce.f" 
Tons. 

1813-14 - 21 fi7,560 

1814-15 40 77,220 

1815-16 94,560 $9,749,253 

1816-17 80,820 8,773,379 

1817-18 100,880 13,501,036 

1818-19 191 136,300 16,771,711 

1819-20 198 106,706 12,637,079 

1820-21 202 99,320 11,967,067 

1821-22 287 136,400 15,126,420 

1822-23 392 129,500 14,473,725 

1823-24 436 136,240 15,063,820 

1824-25 502 176,420 19,044,640 

1825-26 608 193,300 20,416,320 

1826-27 715 235,200 21,730,887 

1827-28 698 257,300 22,886,420 

1828-29 756 245,700 20,757,265 

1829-30 989 260,900 22,065,518 

1830-31 778 307,300 26,044,820 

1831-32 813 244,600 21,806,763 

1832-33 1,280 291,700 28 238,432 

1833-34 1,081 327,800 29,820,817 

1834-35 1,005 399,900 37,566,842- 

1835-36 1,272 437,100 39,287,762 

1836-37 1,372 401,500 43,515,402 

1837-38 1,549 449,600 45.627,720 

1838-39 1,551 399,500 42,263,880 

1839-40 1,573 537,400 49,763,825 

1840-41 • 1,958 542,500 49,822,115 

During all this period, and despite all these difficulties, the 
number of arrivals at New Orleans and the amount of river 
business on the Lower Mississippi continued to steadily in- 
crease. The growth of the river traffic is well shown in this 
table. 

In regard to the steamboats, it should be remembered that 
the steady increase in arrivals each year does not fully ex- 
press the increase in tonnage, because the boats were not only 
o-rowing- more numerous, but were increasino- in size each vear, 
and thus while they doubled in number between 1825 and 1833 
they more than trebled in their carrying capacity. 

In regard to the flat-boats and other craft, there is no suffi- 
ciently definite information for most'of this period. It should 



* This does not include articles rafted down of which no record was kept. 

t This includes the small amount of produce received by Lalie Poutchar- 
train, from 1 to 6 per cent, of total. It is impossible to separate it from the 
receipts by river, since no separate account was kept, except for cotton and) 
a few other articles. 



TOWING KEEL-BOATS AND BARGES. 215 

be said, however, that while the steamboats supplanted the 
flat-boats in many lines of trade, they did not entirely drive 
them off the river for fifteen or twenty years afterwards. 
During all this period when the Western cities were building 
steamboats, the flat-boats also were increasing in numbers. 
They were found serviceable in carrjdng hay, coal, etc., and 
in reaching the interior streams. The Mississippi counted 
some hundreds of tributaries. On some of these the settle- 
ments were sparse, and the surplus products aHbrded at best 
one or two cargoes a year, and these were sent much more 
conveniently and cheaply in flat-boats than in steamers. The 
steamers had passed the flats between 1820 and 1830 in the 
business transacted and the freight handled, and from this time 
they increased the lead steadily. The number of flats, how- 
ever, arriving at New Orleans kept but little, if any, behind 
the steamers, and as late as 18-40 nearly a fifth of the freight 
handled in the Lower Mississippi went by flat-boat, keel, or 
barge. The early flat-boats had depended altogether on the 
current of the river to carry them down. The system of tow- 
ing was tried in 1829, and a small steamer, which would be 
called a tug to-day, was successfully used in towing keel-boats 
up and down stream. The idea did not seem, however, to 
meet with much favor, the flat-boat men having a superstition 
that their conjunction with a steamer was not favorable to 
them, and it was re^-erved for a later generation to definitely 
try in the barge the system of towing freight up and down 
stream. 

In but little more than a quarter of a century the steam- 
boat had secured a practical monopoly of the trafiic of the 
Mississippi, and developed an interior commerce of immense 
proportions. It was during this period that the river country 
fared its best. Between 18H0 and 1840 the river cities in- 
creased rapidly in population, wealth, and trade, and New 
Orleans, the port of the valley, advanced more rapidly than 
any city in America. The commerce of the river — and all 
its commerce was carried on the Mississippi, except an infini- 
tesimal amount that came through Lake Pontchartrain and the 
Carondelet Canal.* 

STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

From the very first day that steamboats had begun to navi- 
gate the Mississippi they had met with accidents during their 



Imported through Lake Pontchartrain, 



216 Gould's history or river namuation. 

first forty years. The following total of losses are counted 
against them : — 

GREAT TOTALITY AND LOSS OF LIFE. 

Lost. 

1810 to 1820 3 

1820 to 1830 37 

1830 to 1840 184 

1840 to 1850 272 

Boats, the dates of whose loss is imkuowu 576 



Total in forty years 1 ,070 

Tonnage 85,256 

Cost $7,113,1)40 

Killed at accidents 2,299 

Wounded 1,881 

Killed and wounded 4,180 

Of the accidents, lfi6 boats were destroyed by fire, 209 by 
explosion, 45 by collision. 

In 1840 the number of boats snagged was 21, valued at 
$330,000. In 1841 the number snagged was 29; loss, $464,- 
000 ; in 1842, 68. In one mouth of that year 11 vessels were 
lost between Saint Louis and the mouth of the Ohio, a dif- 
tance of only 175 miles, the loss being $234,000. In the sev- 
enteen months succeeding 72 boats were lost, valued at 
$1,200,000. In 1846 36 vessels were lost, of which 24 were 
by snags, sunken rocks, or logs; damage, $697,500 ; lives lost, 
166. In consequence of these many accidents the cost of run- 
ning a vessel on the river was estimated at three times that on 
the lakes. In his report to the Memphis convention, in 1845, 
Mr. Calhoun estimated the loss of steamers on the Western 
water ways at 11 per cent, of the entire number, the average 
life of a vessel being only nine years. In the six years be- 
tween 1840 and 1846 no less than 225 steamboats were lost on 
the Western water ways, an average of 56 per year. The 
record of 1846 is bad enough. 

steamboats lost, 1846 120 

Snagiged 46 

Sunk 38 

Burst boilers 16 

Collision 15 

Destroyed by fire 13 

Shipwreck 10 

Cut down by ice 7 

The following gives the actual losses in life of two average 

seasons of river business : — 

Years. Number of Number of Number of 

accidents. killed. wounded. 

1853 31 319 158 

1854 48 587 228 



GREATEST LOSSES OF WATER CRAFT. '217 

The most active year in steamboat business and the one 
chronicling the heaviest losses was that immediately preced- 
ing the war. 

The following is the record for 1860: 

dumber steamboats destroyed and damaged 299 

N umber canal-boats and barges 48 

Coal andflat-boals 208 

Steamboats totally destroyed ViO 

Causes of disasters : — 

Sunk Ill 

Burned 31 

Exploded 19 

Collisions 24 

Snagged and damaged 44 

RAPID GROWTH OF NEW ORLEANS. 

"While the Mississippi Valley was listening at the Memphis 
convention to the story of its glories to come, and river men 
were calculating on the immense traffic that was assured the 
future, New Orleans was confident of the future. Few of its 
people anticipated any danger of its future and it was pre- 
dicted not only in American papers but in the British Quarterly 
Revitw that it must ultimately become, on account of the 
Mississippi, the most important commercial city in America, 
if not in the world. 

That eminent statistical and economical authority, Debow^s 
Review, declared that " no city of the world has ever ad- 
vanced as a mart of commerce with such gigantic and rapid 
strides as New Orleans." 

It was no idle boast. Between 1830 and 1840 no city of the 
United States kept pace with it. When the census was taken 
it was fourth in population, exceeded only by New York, 
'Philadelphia and Baltimore, and third in point of commerce 
of the ports of the world, exceeded only by London, Liver- 
jpool, and New York, being indeed, but a short distance behind 
ithe latter city, and ahead of it in the export of domestic pro- 
iducts. Unfortunately, its imports were out of all proportion 
with its exports. It shipped coffee, hardware, and other 
jheavy articles like this up the river, but it left the West de- 
ipendent on New York and the other Atlantic cities for nearly 
all the finer class of manufactured goods they needed. 

Later on, when the West began to go into manufacturing 
dtself, and Cincinnati and Pittsburgh became important manu- 
facturing centers, New Orleans imported their goods and re- 
shipped them to the plantations. Of these shipments up- 
, stream over 75 per cent., strange to say, were articles which 
|had previously been sent down-stream. Cincinnati sent its 



218 Gould's history of river navigation. 

lard, candles, pork, etc., to New Orleans to be carried up by 
the coast packets to Bayou Sara and Baton Rouge. From 
these latter towns were shipped so many hogsheads of sugar 
and barrels of molasses to New Orleans to be thence sent by 
the Cincinnati boats to the Ohio metropolis. There was no 
trade between the Western cities and Southern plantations, very 
little even with the towns; it all paid tribute to New Orleans. 

shipments of cotton to other points. 

The upper Mississippi had from 1850 become the center of 
immigration and production, and New Orleans, which had 
formerly depended on the Ohio River country almost wholly 
for its supplies, now largely got them from Saint Louis. 
About 1850 the traffic with Saint Louis exceeded that with 
Cincinnati. In 1859, 32 steamboats of 48,72(5 tons were re- 
quired for the Saint Louis and 36 of 26,932 tons for the 
Cincinnati trade. 

Next in importance to New Orleans among the lower river 
towns was Memphis, which had steadily increased its traffic, 
as follows: — 

1851 $ 4,978,000 

1853 G,377,000 

1854 8,2Ut;,500 

1857 11,938,959 

The boats landing at Memphis the latter year were : Steam- 
boats, 2,279 ; flat-boats, 379 ; a total tonnage of 901,214. The' 
shipments were nearly entirely to New Orleans. There were 
shipped 223,081 bales of cotton, of which 204,281 went south 
to New Orleans, 786 north to Saint Louis, and 28,014 to the 
Ohio River. The other shipments were wheat, flour, tobacco, 
furs, peltries, etc. 

Vicksburg had passed Natchez, the levying and settling of 
the Yazoo delta having made it the point at which the cotton 
floated down the Tallahatchie, Coldwater, Yalabusha, Sun- 
flower, and Yazoo Rivers on flats was transferred to steamers. 
The construction of the Southern Railroad to Jackson had 
made it also the river poit for the shipment of the cotton of 
central Mississippi to market 

Natchez continued an important social center and the ship- 
per of cotton in the rich districts of southwestern Mississippi. 

Bayou Sara, as the most western point of sugar production 
on the Mississippi, was the terminus of what is known as the 
upper coast packets, and has' continued so to this day. 

Baton Rouge was important as the State capital of Louisina, 
but its shipments of produce were small. Below Baton Rouge 



STEAMBOATS INCREASING IN ELEGANCE AND CAPACITY. 219 

the steamboats loaded directly from the plantations ; the towns 
were small and of littlQ commercial importance. During all 
this period the Mississippi River steamboat had improved in 
size, in speed, and in appearance. Discarding the idea of mak- 
ing the river craft like those of the sea, a new genus of vessel 
had develo])ed, especially to the needs of the Mississippi and 
its tributaries, adapted to both passenger and freight traffic, 
of light draught and great speed, and good carrying capacity. 
Changes had been made from time to time in the machinery 
employed and in the shape and appearance of the boat until 
finally a standard was reached that has been changed little in 
the last half century. 

The first boat with a saloon and state-rooms, was applauded 
by the press as luxurious in the extreme. These cabins were 
steadily improved until they became really the equal of the 
finest ocean steamers on the Atlantic. The passenger business 
of the steamboats was very large; indeed, they carried all the 
passengers in the Mississippi Valley, and it was one of the 
surest sources of profit. 

In size there had been a steady advance. In 1839 but 9 
steamers on the Mississippi were over 500 tons, and 13 be- 
tween 400 and 500. The average tonnage of a steamboat was 
'only 164. In 1846 108 steamboats were built a cost of 
$1,450,000 and of a tonnage of 51,660, an average of 479. 
One of these was a steamer of 887 tons, another of 750. 
They were built almost wholly on the Ohio River. Of the 
first 418 there were built at — 

Pittsburpih 112 

Cincinnati 70 

Louisville, New Albany, and Jeffersonville 55 

Wlieeling 20 

The others were at Brownsville, Marietta, Portsmouth, and 
other points. 

RIVALRY BETWEEN WESTERN CITIES. 

Although not relatively the most prosperous period in the 
history of river commerce, this period 1840-1860, is in the 
view of most steamboatmen, the flush time of river commerce. 
In these twenty years its volume had increased fivefold, and 
the steamboats had made a wonderful advance in beauty, size 
and ornamentation. If the raih*"oads and canals had carried 
off some of the })roduce of the valley, the river towns still 
kept up a large traffic, and New Orleans, Cincinnati and Saint 
Louis competed with each other as to who should stand at the 
head of the list. 

While the two latter sometimes passed New Orleans in the 



220 Gould's history of eiver navigation. 



GREAT ACTIVITY AMONG STEAMBOATS. 

number of arrivals of steam vessels, in the tons of freight, 
and value of produce, the Crescent City was never distanced 
until war closed it to commerce. It had regular lines to all 
the important towns, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, and 
St. Louis, and it controlled, to a great extent, the commerce 
of .the Tennessee, Cumberland, Arkansas, Red, Yazoo and 
other streams. 

In the period 1840-1850 the steamers running between New 
Orleans and Louisville were the Gen. Brown, V\ illiam French, 
Diana, Ed. Shippen, ;md others. Later on came the Bell 
Key, Bostoua, Grace Darling, Peytona, Atlanta, Niagara, K. 
J. Ward, Eclipse, and Shotwell, with a tonnage of 1,200 tons. 

Between New Orleans and the Tennessee Piver were the 
Huntsville, Knoxville, Mohican, Cherokee, Choctaw, East- 
port, and others which brought out 180,000 bales of cotton 
each year and 15,000 hogsheads of tol)acco that afterwards 
found the way by rail to the Atlantic ports. 

On the Cumberland were the steamers Old Hickory, Helen 
Kirkwood, Harry Hill, and Tennessee running to Nashville 
and bringing to New Orleans each year some 120,000 bales of 
cotton and 12,000 hogsheads of tobacco. 

The Yorktown, Monarch, Duke of Orleans, and ten other 
vessels ran regularly between New Orleans and Cincinnati. 

The lines to St. Louis included the George Collier, Auto- 
crat, Maria, Alex Scott, Hevry of the West, Meteor, Maria 
Denning, Imperial, E. J. Gay, Charles Chouteau, Illinois, and 
John Walsh. 

The Memphis trade between 1848 and 1861 included the 
Bulletins No. 1 and No. 2, the John Semond, H. P. W. Hill, 
Ingomar, Prince of Wales, Ben Franklin, and other steamers, 
and brought down to the Gulf 325,000 bales of cotton. 

The Ouachita river trade between 1850 and 1861 included 
the Pockaway and D. S. Stacey, Farmer, Paul Jones, Cora, 
Lizzie Simmons, R. W. Kimball, Frank Pargoud, and others, 
and brought out of the river and its tributaries 150,000 bales 
of cotton. 

The Red River lines between 1848 and 1861 included tho 
Caddo, Latonia, St. Charles, Compromise, H. M. Wright, R. 
W. Powell, R. W. Adams, B. L. Hodge, Duke, Grand Duke, 
and Dubloon. These steamers ran to Shreveport; other pack- 
ets running above to Jefferson, and above the raft which here 
impeded navigation. 



BOATS ENGAGED IN DIFFERENT TRADES. 221 

Another line to Alexandria and Natchitoches included the 
P. F. Kimball, Peter Dalena, Prota, and Rapides. 

These vessels brought annually out of Red River some 
250,000 bales of cotton and miscellaneous products of all kinds. 

The Arkansas trade included the Gem, the Thirty-fifth Par- 
allel, the Arkansas, which brought out some 150,000 bales of 
cotton, running as high as Little Rock to Fort Smith in high 
water, and sometimes even above that point into the Indian 
Territory when the season was very favorable. 

THE BEST YEAR ON THE RIVER. 

The season before the civil war (1859-60) was inaugurated 
showed the largest receipts at New Orleans of produce and the 
heaviest business the lower river has ever handled ; indeed it 
stands on record to this day as the maximum of river pros- 
perity. The number of boats arriving at New Orleans was 
not as great as in 1846-47, but the boats had in the meanwhile 
more than doubled in size and the steam tonnage reaching 
New Orleans was the largest that city ever saw and it has 
never equaled it since. Nor was the total of value of the pro- 
duce as high as in one or two subsequent years. On the other 
hand, the prices of these latter years are the inflated prices of 
a paper currency. Reduced to a gold basis they will not 
amount to anything like the business of the year 1859-60, 
which stands to this day the best on record in the Lower Missis- 
sippi. There reached New Orleans that season by river 
2,187,560 tons of freight; and the total trade of the city in 
the receipt and shipment of produce and in the export and 
import coastwise or to foreign ports was: — 

River trade ... S289,5fi5,000 

Ocean trade 183,7-'5,00O 

Total . : 5^ 473,290,000 

Not only in its amount, but in the stretch of its river trade, 
the season 1859-60 has never since been equaled. The ar- 
rivals of steamboats that season at New Orleans shows this, 
and indicates the change in the river traffic that came in the 
next quarter of a century : — 

NUMBER OF STEAMBOATS ARRIVED AT NEW ORLEANS DURING THE SEASON 
ENDING AUGUST 31, 18G0. 

Trade in which engaged. Number. 

Atchaf ayla River 29 

Arkansas River 30 

Barataria Bayou •. 30 

Boeuf Bayou 12 

Cairo 12 



222 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

Trade in which engaged. Number. 

Cincinnati 206 

Coast : Lower 180 

Upper ii05 

Courtableau Bayou 91 

Cumberland Kiver 66 

Des Glaises Bayou 16 

Evansvilie 8 

Grand River 8 

Grosse-Tete Bayou 20 

Greenville and Bends 118 

La Fourche Bayou 90 

Louisville 172 

Macon and Tensas 83 

Memphis 110 

Ouachita River 224 

Pittsburgh 526 

Faducah 1 

Red River 488 

Saint Louis 472 

Tennessee River 16 

Teche Bayou 94 

Vermillion Bayou 15 

Vicksburg 211 

Wheeling 9 

White River 4 

E. Yazoo 59 

Other streams 22 

BOATS BEING WITHDRAWN. 

Of this trade, that of the Arkansas, White, Tennessee, and 
Cumberland may be said to be entirely gone. To-day no ves- 
sels run up Bayou Vermillion or Grosse Tete. The Yazoo 
trade is now transferred at Vicksburg instead of goino; direct 
to New Orleans. Evansvilie, Faducah, and Wheeling are 
ignorant of special New Orleans lines. The Cincinnati trade 
has fallen off three-fourths. The Lafourche trade is less, 
since many of the planters now send their goods by way of 
the railroad. The same is true of the Teche, along which 
stream now runs the Southern Pacific Railway. The Red 
River trade is less than one-fourth what it was then. The 
Texas and Pacific strikes the Red at Shreveport, Alexandria 
and other points, and diverts a large traffic from it. The re- 
cently completed Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Pacific carries 
a large amount of cotton across the country to Vicksburg, to 
be thence distributed by railroad. The Red River is seldom 
navigated above Shreveport, and whereas in those days vessels 
ran through to Jefferson, and even to White Oak Slioals, this 
is rare and almost unknown to-day. From the Ouachita and 
its tributaries a considerable amount of cotton is taken by the 
Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific at Monroe. The Green- 
ville and Bend trade has dropped one-half in the last few 



INCREASE OF THE COAL TRADE. 223 

years. The Memphis trade does not call for one-fourth the 
vessels then in use. One line of steamers suffices for the 
traffic of Louisville and Cincinnati with New Orleans. 

The only improvement perceptible is in the coal trade with 
Pittsburgh, which has greatly increased in tonnage and im- 
portance, and which defies all railroad competition; in the 
lower river traffic, which shows a slight advance in conse- 
quence of the increased production of the lower parishes ; and 
in the barge and mainly the grain trade with St. Louis, which 
has been somewhat spasmodic, but which has grown to much 
larger proportions than it was at any time before the war. 

The extent of the commercial area governed by the river 
traffic of New Orleans in 1860 will show what was lost in the 
four years of war that followed, and never fully regained. 



CHAPTEK XXXYII. 

(From Internal Commerce of the U. S.) i 

HOW LEVEES ARE BUILT. 

^ ' 'T^HE first advent of the white man into the Mississippi 
-JL Valley shows the necessity for levees or dikes of 
earth-work to prevent the low bottoms on both sides of the 
river from being overflowed. LaSalle found the banks under 
water at several points when he came down the river in 1684, 
and Bienville in his exploring expeditions similarly found them 
overflowed. 

At several points on or near the river were mounds erected 
by the Indians presumedly as a refuge from extraordinary hi^h 
water. One of the highest points encountered by Bienville 
during his explorations of the Mississippi in 1699-1700 was 
New Orleans. The Metaerie ridge which runs back of the city 
rises from 6 to 7 feet higher than the surrounding country, 
and the front land facing on the river, especially that extend- 
ing from Bayou St. John forward, is high enough to escape 
the flood in ordinary years. It is to this fact that the selection 
of this location as the future capital of Louisiana was due. 
Seeing that the land here was out of water when nearly all the 
surrounding country was flooded, Bienville came to the con- 
clusion that it was above overflow and selected it for the city 
which he had then in view. 

The flood that he saw, however, was but a small one, the 
river not rising its usual height that year. 



224 Gould's history of river navigation. 



THE FIRST LEVEE. 

The water of 1718 was much higher and interfered seriousljr 
with the men employed in laying the foundations of New Or- 
leans, they being compelled by it to stop work and devote 
themselves to the construction of a rude levee in front of the 
town and for some short distance above it, which sufficed to 
keep it clear of water. This was the first levee in Louisiana, 
and was constructed under the auspices of Sieur LeBlonde de 
la Tour, chief of engineers of the colony and a Knight of St. 
Louis. This levee was merely a temporary one, but answered 
its purpose. It was worked on each successive year, raised 
and strengthened from time to time, being finally completed 
under Perrier in 1727. It then presented an 18-foot crown 
and 60-foot base, and was 5,400 feet, or slightly over a mile, 
in length. This was more than the city front, and was ample 
protection to it. Above the city for 18 miles a smaller levee 
was continued, and another extended 14 miles below, both for 
the protection of farmers and of the city. 

The country around New Orleans was settled, levees were 
constructed, and by 1735 they extended a distance of 42 miles, 
from English Turn, " Detour des Anglais " to 30 miles above 
the city. With the exception of the New Orleans levee, how- 
ever, they were low and weak and fell an easy victim to the 
great flood of that year, which lasted from the latter part of 
December to the end of June, 1736. The levees were broken 
in many places and New Orleans flooded from the crevasses 
above. The overflow caused great loss and damage and pre- 
vented the planting of much of the land, as the water did not 
go down until so late a day. The levees were patched up, but 
so little was done towards properly restoring them and cre- 
vassses continued so frequent that the government took the 
matter in hand and issued an edict requiring the owners of 
land fronting on the river, and all the parties in the colony so 
fronted to improve their levees and have them in good condi- 
tion by January 1, 1744, under penalty of confiscation. This 
stringent law seems to have accomplished its purpose, and for 
the next half century Louisiana escaped with comparatively 
little damage from overflow, and the levees were gradually 
extended and became the basis of the present levee system of 
the lower Mississippi Valley — indeed, it is possible that some 
of them exist to this day in those sections where there has been 
little change in the course of the river. 

In 1752 the levees extended along the river front 20 milea 



THE EXTENT OF LEVEES IN 1752. 225 

below and 30 above New Orleans, from Concession to near 
Bonnet Cerre. The levee system was excellent, and no breaks 
occurred; and however defective the government of the colony 
may have been in other matters at that time, when it passed 
through many financial depressions, there could be no doubt 
of the efficiency with which it guarded the levees. These were 
constructed by the inhabitants themselves, but the government 
reserved revisory power, and allowed no planter to neglect his 
embankment and endanger the safety of his neighbors. All 
the land protected by levees was under a high state of cultiva- 
tion, and nearly the entire population of the colony was con- 
centrated in this narrow limit of less than 200 square miles. 
The cost of levee building was relatively higher than it is now, 
the planter, having no facilities for this work; this caused the 
slow settlement of the country, as the expense of protecting 
new land from overflow was many times greater than the cost 
of buying and stocking it. The levee, however, continued to 
advance slowly northward at the rate of a mile a year. In 
1782, 1785, and 1796 the river rose to a very great height, but 
the people escaped any serious damage from overflow. There 
were slight crevasses, it is true, and in 1780, 1785, 1791 and 
J799 New Oileans was flooded from them. The last overflow, 
which was the worst, being a break in the Macarte Levee, just 
above the then city limits, but at what is now known as Car- 
rollton, or the seventh municipal district of New Orleans. 
But little injury was caused by these breaks, as the levees were 
soon repaired. The districts not protected by levies suffered 
severely. 

The flood of 1782 was the greatest ever encountered during 
the century in which Louisiana had been settled, and the water 
from the Mississip])i overflowed the entire Attakapas and 
Opelousas regions, including all the country west of the Mis- 
sissippi to the central prairies, only a few high points escap- 
ing. 

In 1785 some of the lower levees were slightly injured, but 
no great harm done. 

This experience firmly convinced the inhabitants of the effi- 
cacy of levees, and the work of building them was energetically 
continued. In 1812 they extended, on the east bank of the 
river, from Pointe a la Hache to Bayou Manchac, the dividing 
line between Louisiana and West Florida, a distance of 155 
miles ; and on the west bank from the lower Plaquemines settle- 
ment to Pointe Coupee, a distance of 185 miles. There were 
also a few levees on the west bank of the river, between the 
mouths of the Red and Arkansas Rivers, to protect the settle- 
is 



226 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ments. The total length of levees in 1812, therefore, was 
340 miles, whichatthe then cost of labor, most of itbeing slave 
labor, must have cost some $6,500,000, a very heavy expense 
for so young a country 

GRAND LEVEE AT POINT COUPEE. 

But little had been done in the way of levee building in the 
neighboring Territory of Mississippi. In 1809, when the river 
rose, it swept over all the country around Natchez, which 
section then contained more than half the population of the 
Territory, and destroyed the crops. Governor Sargent, in his 
notes, declares that the inhabitants, who could not understand 
the flood, entertained the belief that the Great Lakes had forced 
an outlet into the Upper Mississippi and were pouring down 
on them. In 1813 came the first serious disaster to the Louis- 
iani levees in the breaking of that at Pointe Coupee, since 
known as the Grand levee, and which protects seven parishes 
from overflow. This levee, which is the largest, tlie most im- 
portant, and the most exposed in the State, has broken several 
times, each time causing great damage, as it overflows the 
basins of the Atchafalaya, Bayou Teche, and Grand Lake. In 
this year (1813) the water in Grand Lake rose from 4 to 5 
feet higher than any previous year it had attained since 1780. 
There were a number of minor breaks in the river embankment 
from Concordia down, and even New Orleans suffered slightly 
from a cave in the Kenner levee, 12 miles above the city. 

In 1816 followed a notable overflow, restricted however, 
almost wholly to the city. The Macarte levee which was un- 
dermined by the powerful current which there strikes the bank, 
again broke and four days afterwards the rear portion of the 
suburbs or faubourgs, as they were called, of Montagu, La 
Course, Gravier, Treme, Saint John, and Saint Mary were 
flooded to a depth of from 3 to 5 feet. Within twenty-five 
days, however, the water had run off, and all damages had been 
repaired. 

In 1828 the line of levees along the Mississippi was contin- 
uous except where they were not needed, from New Orleans 
to Red River Landing, just below the mouth of Red River, a 
distance of 195 miles, and for 65 miles below the city. Above 
Red River they were in an unfinished state to Napoleon. From 
1828 to 1844 they were gradually extended on the west bank 
from Red River to the mouth of the Arkansas. There were also 
man}^ levees along the Yazoo front, but they were not con- 
tinuous. Above Napoleon little, if anything, had been done 
in the way of levee building. 



MEMPHIS CONVENTION 1845. 227 



THE SWAMP-LAND ACT. 



The Memphis river convention of 1845 made an earnest de- 
mand on the Federal Government to grant the farmers some 
assistance in the matter of levee building, without which, it 
was declared, the settlement of the Lower Mississippi Valley 
could not go on successfully. The planters had already ex- 
pended many millions in constructing miles of dikes; and it 
was pointed out that with more levees millions of acres of fer- 
tile lands, then useless and valueless, because subject to over- 
flow, could be reclaimed. The proposition was made that 
these flooded lands should be given to the States to aid in 
levee building and in reclaiming them ; and this was warmly 
approved by the convention and recommended to Congress. 

The convention was not without its effect. The improve- 
ment of the Mississippi received the attention of Congress, 
and a resolution was adopted authorizing a survey of the Mis- 
sissippi for the purpose of ascertaining the best method of 
reclaiming the alluvial lands. The same year Congress gave, 
for the fir:?ttime, assistance in the construction of levees. An 
act was passed in 1849 donating to Louisiana to " aid in con- 
structing the necessary levees and drains to reclaim the swamps 
and overflowed lands there, the whole of these swamps and 
overflowed lands which may be, or are found unfit for culti- 
vation." 

The General Government, in the spirit of enlarged public 
policy, conceded this class of inundated lands to aid in the con- 
struction of permanent levees, with a view to secure private 
property, the theory being reclamation of the land through 
the State and also as a sanitary measure. 

Then followed the law of September 28, 1850, extending 
grant so as to enable " the State of Arkansas to construct the 
necessary levees and drains to reclaim the swamps and over- 
flowed lands thereon, the fourth and last section of which en- 
laro^ed the grant so as to embrace in each of the other States in 
the Union on which such swamps and overflowed lands, known 
and designated as aforesaid, may be situated." The act pro- 
vided that " the proceeds of said lands, whether from sale or 
direct appropriation in kind, shall be applied, exclusively, as 
far as necessary, to the reclaiming of said lands by means of 
levees and drains." 

Among the largest recipients of this bounty were the three 
river States of Louisiana Arkansas, and Mississippi, which 
have received 18,545,270 acres of swamp overflowed lands. 



228 Gould's history of river navigation. 

the condition of levees in 1860 

The funds from the sale of these lands have been generall}'; 
turned over to boards of swamp commissioners, to be used by 
them on levee building. Of the States Louisiana has secured 
the best results from this donation. It is still possessed of 
considerable revenue from tliis source, and the Morganza levee 
in Pointe Coupee was constructed in 1883 out of the funds de- 
rived from the sale of swamp lands. 

The assistance thus given by the Federal Government en- 
couraged levee building, and the next ten years were the most 
active and successful in the Lower Mississippi Valley. At the 
outbreak of the war, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas had 
a perfect system of levees. In 1860 there were 2,184 miles 
of embankments on the Mississippi, with an average height of 
from 8 to 10 feet and a width, at the base, of from 50 to 75 
feet, their width at the top being somewhat less than their 
height. Some of them w^ere of much greater size. That at 
Yazoo Pass, cut by the Union forces during the siege of Vicks- 
burg was, for a distance of half a mile, 28 feet high and at 
some points 38 feet, and in places nearly if not quite 300 feet 
broad at its base. The levees at Bayou Manchac and the 
Grand Levee in Pointee Coupee were nearly as large. 

PROTECTION OF LEVEES AND THEIR SIZE. 

Under the French rule, and for a long period afterwards,, 
the levees were built and kept in order by the front propri- 
etors. At a later date the police June, corresponding to the 
county commissioners in the other States, took charge of the 
levees in Louisiana; but in times of danger the riparian pro- 
prietors, occupying alluvial lands subject to overflow within 7 
miles of the river, were compelled to lend a helping hand. 
When a crevasse was threatened the planters and farmers of 
the surrounding country met and decided on the line of action 
to be pursued. Each gave the labor of a number of his slaves. 
One would give ten slaves for twenty days or less, another thirty 
slaves for fifteen days, each in accordance with his means. 
Afterwards districts were formed and taxes levied for levee pur- 
poses. 

In Mississippi the levees were placed in charge of the board 
of swamp commissioners, who expended the money derived 
from the sale of the lands granted by Congress. Here also, 
however, the bulk of the work was done by the owners of the 
plantations fronting on the river. 



LEVEES ON THE MISSISSirPI. 229 

In Arkansas, immediately after the jjrant of the swamp and 
overflowed lands by the General Government, a board of com- 
missioners was created to determine the necessary drains and 
the levees to be erected. This board was abolished in 18o(5, 
and in 18')7 an act was pa«sed allowing the letting out of con- 
tracts for building levees when there was sutiicient money in 
the treasury to pay for it. The funds becoming exhausted, 
the counties made their own laws respecting these dikes. 

THE COST or THE LEVEES. 

In view of the manner in which the work on the levees w^as 
done — mainly by slave lal)or — it is somewhat ditficult to arrive 
at a calculation of the cost of these dikes previous to the war. 
Various estimates have been made of the number of cubic yards 
of earth in the levees then constructed, and the cost is calculated 
on this basis. The State engineer estimated that the levees 
standing in Louisiana in 18()0 cost $12, 500, 000. This repre- 
sented their actual value, the number of cubic yards of earth 
in them, at the price then ruling. Another rei)ort places the 
total cost of levees in all the river States, from the besinniusf 
of levee building to 1802, as follows: — 

Louisiana $25,600,000 

Mississippi 14.750,000 

Arkansas 1,200,000 

Missouri 1 ,640,000 

Other States 560,000 

Total $43,750,000 

Work was begun anew. In Arkansas and Mississippi large 
amounts of bonds were voted for levee pur|)oses. In Louisi- 
ana a levee company was formed, to which was confided the 
absolute control of the construction of all levees in the State 
until 1892, a tax of 2 mills on the dollar being voted for the 
purpose of raising the necessary funds. The tax was subse- 
quently increased to 4 mills, and then dropped again to 3. 
The company was to build at least 3,000,000 cubic yards a 
year, at 50 and (iO cents per cubic yard, which would have 
made the annual axpense for levees $l,fi.50,O00. In 1876 the 
chief engineer of the State reported that the work done by the 
company for the previous three years had not been sufficient 
to replace the wear and tear of the levees, and that they were 
losing ground every year." 



230 Gould's history of river navigation. 



CHAPTEE XXXVIII. 

FIRST STEAMBOAT COMPANY FORMED IN NEW ORLEANS. 

IN a newspaper published in New Orleans called Monitor^ 
March 5th, 1812, has this advertisement: 

"Steamboat. — The persons who desire to take an in- 
terest in the steamboat held under the patent of Messrs. Liv- 
ingston &, Fulton, destined to navigate upon the Mississippi 
and Ohio and Cumberland, and to the Falls of Ohio, will 
please address the undersigned at the house of Messrs. Tal- 
cot & Bowers, from eleven o'clock until two. The subscrip- 
tion books are open every day until they are filled." 

N. I. Roosevelt 

From the Louisiana Gazette and Advertiser January 13th^ 
1812 : "The steamboat New Orleans from Pittsburgh, arrived 
here Friday evening last. The Captain reports she has beea 
under way not more than 259 hours from Pittsburgh to this 
place which gives about eight miles an hour. She was built at 
Pittsburgh by the Ohio Steamboat Company, under the patent 
granted to Messrs. Livingston & Fulton of New York. She^ 
is intended as a rescular trader between this and Natchez, and 
will, it is generally believed, meet the most sanguine expecta- 
tions of the company." 

February 8th, 1812, the same paper remarks: '* The 
steamboat was at Fort Andrews, 50 miles below Natchez oa^ 
her way up, on Saturday last. She was detained by breaking 
one of her wheels." 

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 1812, the same paper makes this an- 
nouncement: " The steamboat left Natchez on Thursday af- 
ternoon and arrived here on Monday evening last, and will 
start again we are informed on Saturday next." 

Nicholas Baker, Captain. 

In the s?ime paper of Jan. 16, 1812, is this notice: — 

"For the Englisli Turn. — The steamboat New Orleans 
will run from the English Turn and back on Friday next, to 
start precisely at 10 a. m. 

Tickets of admission ma}'' be procured at the two coffea 
houses, at three dollars each. It is expected the boat will re- 
turn at 3 o'clock. All persons who desire to dine before that 
hour it is expected will carry their provisions with them." 

January 18, 1812. Yesterday the citizens were gratified with 



riRST EXCURSION TRIP FROM NEW ORLEANS. 231 

the power of steam in this vessel. She left this place at 11 
o'clock, went five leagues down, and returned at 4 o'clock. A 
number of gentlemen were on board. The day was fine and 
general satisfaction was given." 

New Orleans DaiJj Gaztlte^ of Jan. 21, 1812, has the fol- 
lowing noli'e : — 

" For Natchez, the steamboat New Orleans will leave this 
port on Thursday, 23d inst. 

From a gentleman passenger of correct information we are 
enabled to state that she can stem the current at the rate of 
upwards of three miles an hour. 

That she went from this city to Houmas, a distance of 25 
miles, in twenty-one hours." 

In the Louisiana Gazelle of July, 1818, the following an- 
nouncement is made: — 

«' Natchez, July 25, 1818. 
" The stockholders of the Natchez Steamboat Company met 
yesterday. The subscription to stock having been completed 
amounted to one hundred thousand dollars. 

The company in November last purchased the substantial 
steamboats New Orleans and Vesuvius and propose to keep 
them engaged in the trade between this place and New 
Orleans. 

These boats were originally built under the sanction of the 
New York patentees, Messrs. Livingston and Fulton, and will 
possess whatever advantages may be derived from the estab- 
lishment of their rights. " 



REMINISCENCES OF STEAMBOATS AND CAPTAINS OF THE BATON 
ROUGE, BAYOU SARA AND UPPER COAST TRADE. 

(The following list is not claimed to be correct, l^ut the 
best that could be made out of the obscure records.) 

The first regular packet in the Baton Rouge trade was the 
steamer Ramapo, Capt. Laurant, from 1820 to 1825 ; then 
he commanded the steamboat Packet; in 1829 he commanded 
the Florida, and the Clipper in liS42, when she exploded. 

In 1822, Capt. Reed commanded the Feliciana; this was a 
low pressure boat built at New York. She was a very staunch 
boat and run for many years. 

1823. Capt. Urton, steamer Leopold ; Capt. Ward, steamer 
Telegraph; Capt. Bosworth, steamer Hope. 

1824. Capt. Gray, steamer Henry Clay : Capt. Beckwith, 



232 Gould's iilstouy of riveb navigation. 



NAMES OF STEAMBOATS AND MASTERS. 

Stenmer Courier; Capt. John De Hart, steamer Feliciana; 
Capt. Mahe, steamer Louisiana. 

1826. Capt. Wood, steamer Caravan; Capt. Kimball, 
steamer Red River. 

1827. Capt. Graham, steamer Lady of the Lake. 

1828. Capt. Crane, steamer Columbus; Capt. Curry, 
steamer Attackapas. 

The following steamboats and masters comprise the principal 
names that were engaged in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge 
and Bayou Sara trade from 1840 to 1861 : — 

In 1840. Steamer Brilliant, Capt. Jno. DeHart; steamer 
Baton Rouge, Capt. Sellock; steamer John Armstrong, Capt. 
F. M. Streck. 

In 1842. Steamer Persian, Capt. Jno. DeHart; steamer 
Colorado, Capt. F. M. Streck; steamer Buckeye, Capt. Isaac 
Hooper; steamer Luda, Capt. Thos. Clark. 

In 1843. Steamer Persian, Capt. Jno. DeHart; steamer 
Belle Air, Capt. F. M. Streck; steamer Colorado, Capt. 
James Noe. 

In 1844. Steamer Belle Aiij, Capt. F. M. Streck; steamer 
Rainbow, Capt. Sellock; steamer Helen, Capt. James Noe; 
steamer St. Laundry, Capt. Dugas; steamer Eliska, Capt. 
Dugas. 

In 1845. Steamer Brilliant No. 2, Capt, John DeHart; 
steamer Music No. 1, Capt. F. ]M. Streck; steamer Clinton, 
Capt. Win. Baird; steamer F M. Streck, Capt. Wilson. 

In 1846. Steamer Majestic, Capt. Jas. Noe; steamer Eliska; 
steamer Belle Creole, Capt. Champromere. 

In 1848. Steamer Luna, Capt. Wm. Baird; steamer Mary 
Foley, Capt. Dalfares. 

In 1849. Steamer Gipsey, Capt. James Noe; steamer Clin- 
ton. 

In 1850. Steamer F. M. Streck, Capt. F. M. Streck; 
steamer Patrick Henry, Capt. Dugas; steamer Gross Tete, 
Capt. Hooper; steamer Music, Capt. Streck; steamer Mary 
T., Capt. Dalfares. 

In 1851. Steamer Patrick Henry, Capt. Dugas; steamer 
Home, Capt. Dugas. 

In 1852. Steamer Emperor, Capt. J. A.Cotton; steamer 
Laurel Hill, Capt. J. A. Cotton; steamer Brilliant No. 3, 
Capt. Jno. DeHart; steamer Doctor Batey. 



STEAMBOATS IN THE BAYOU SARA TRADE. 233 

In 1853. Steamer Musie No. 2, Capt. F. M. Streck : stejimer 
New Latona, Capt. F. M. Streck; steamer Bella Donna, Capt. 
I. H. Morrison. 

In 1854. Steamers New Latona and Laurel Hill, Capt. 
Gross. 

In 1855. Steamer New Latonia, Capt. J. A. Cotton. 

In 1856. Steamer Ca)Mtal, Capt. Baranco; steamer Silver 
Heels, Capt. J no. I. Brown; steamer Golden Age; Capt. 
McCombs. 

In 1857. Steamer Laurel Hili, Capt. Hooper. 

In 1858. Steamer IMusic No. 3, Capt. F. M. Streck; steam- 
er Laurel Hill, Capt. James Noc; steamer Gen'l Pike, Capt. 
Jno. I. Brown ; steamer Music, Capt. Jno. I. Brown. 

In 1859. Steamer Gross Tete, Capt. Hooper. 

In 18G1. Steamers D. F. Kcnner and Laurel Hill; steamer 
Lafouch, Capt. Jno. I. Brown; steamer Jno. A. Cotton ; Capt. 
Cotton. 

The Jno. A. Cotton was converted into a ram or gunboat 
during the war and lost in Bayou Teche. She was one of the 
fastest and most powerful boats of her day, and the first and 
only boat ever built on the Ohio that attempted to su|)ply her 
boilers with a syphon alone, and Avhile she succeeded in reach- 
ing New Orleans, it was found that while the syphon would 
supply the boilers after steam was raised, a doctor or an 
auxiliary engine was necessary for convenience and safety. 

NEW ORLEANS AND VICKSBURQ PACKETS. 

Among the early organizations to Vicksburg, there was in 
1842, steamer Baton Rouge, Capt. Walworth; steamer 
Vicksburgh, Capt. W. R. Glover; steamer Sullana, Capt. 
A. W. Tufts; steamer Norma, Capt. W. A. Grice 

In 1844, steamer J. M. White, J. M. Converse. 

In 1846, Magnolia, Capt. St. Clair Thomasson; steamer 
Concordia, John Raine. 

In 1849, Princess No. 2, T. P. Leathers. 

In 1844, Ambassador, C. H. Brenham; Yazoo, Dam- 
eron. 

NATCHEZ AND NEW ORLEANS. 

1841. Princess No. 1, Capt. C. B. Sanford; Invincible, 
Capt. James Walworth. 

1846. Natchez, Capt. T. P. Leathers; Princess, Capt. Wm. 
Leathers- 



234 Gould's history of river navigation. 



NEW ORLEANS AND OUACHITA RIVER PACKETS. 

1849. Steamer Grant, Capt. E. Connery; Princeton, Capt^ 
H. A. Ealer. 

BOATS IN DIFFERENT TRADES FROM 1840 TO 1860. 

1851. Trenton, Capt. John Kcuns; Robt. Whiteman, Capt. 
Geo. S. Kouns; S. W. Downs, Capt. John Cannon. 

NEW ORLEANS AND ALABAMA RIVER. 

1851. Steamer Alabama, Capt. P. Roberts, Jr.; steamer 
Pearl, Capt. A. P. Boar<{man ; steamer Georgia, Capt. S. F. 
Scale; steamer Beacon, Capt. D. H. Shaw. 

BIO GRANDE STEAMBOAT LINE. 

1852. Steamers Grampus, Mentona, and Camanclie formed 
a line from Brazos DeSantiago to Brownsville, owned and 
managed by Messrs. Kennedy, King and Jas. O'Donnell. 

NEW ORLEANS AND YAZOO CITY PACKETS. 

1843. Steamer Republic, Capt. John Good ; steamer Yazoo^ 
Capt. R. C. Young ; steamer M. B. Homer, Capt. P. C. Wal- 
lace: steamer Patriott, Capt. D. F. Rudd. 

NEW ORLEANS AND RED RIVER. 

A Short History of the First Navigation of Red River in 

1715. 

*'In 1715, by order of Bienville, the French commander of the 
territory of Louisiana, the steamer St. Denis was dispatched 
to Red River to make the first exploration of that country. 
He penetrated the valley of that river as far as the country of 
the Natchitoche Indians, and established a fort, where he left 
a number of soldiers and colonists. This was the first town 
established by the French on the banks of Red River. The 
coh'nists immediately commenced a trade with the Indians and 
purchased by barter all the hides, skins, peltries, etc., which 
they would bring to tliem. 

In 1716 the steamer St. Denis^ returned to New Orleans witk 
a fleet of bateaux loaded with valuable skins, furs, hides, 
peltries, etc. For many years this navigation, by means of 
pirogues and bateaux, was carried on upon Red River. 

The second expedition to Red River was made in 1818, by 
the steamer De la Harp, which ascended also to Natchitoches. 



^ Note. — This steamboat St. Denis is evidently a mytli, as she is nevei 
heard of before or since her advent in Red River in 1715 and 1716. 



FIRST STEAMBOATS IN RED RIVER. 235 

Leaving her bateaux at this place she commenced the explora- 
tion of the country to tlie west of Natchitoches. She pene- 
trated into the country of Ihe Caddo Indians, from whence she 
retraced her steps; arriving at Natchitoches she concluded to 
penetrate westward into the territory of Mexico. After pass- 
ing the Sabine river and penetrating some distance into Mexi- 
can territory she again retraced her steps to Natchitoches." 

Old TiaiER.^ 

REMINISCENCES OF RED RIVER. 

Its Early Navigation. 

*' Up to 1824 Red River was navigated almost entirely by 
keel-boats. The tirst steamboat to enter Red river was the 
Enterprise, in 1815. She was commanded by Capt. H. M. 
Shreve, and made two trips to the falls. 

The second boat of which there is any record was the New- 
port, Capt. Wm. Waters, in 1819. The third, the Yankee; 
fourth, Beaver, and tlie fifth the Alexandria. Capt. John R. 
Kimball (uncle of Capt. P. F. Kimball,) and after these the 
Governor Shelby, Neptune and the Arkansas, all in 1820. 
They were all pretty much the same class of boats as the 
Alexandria, which was 106 feet long, drew seventeen inches 
and carried 100 tons. 

In 1821 the Missouri ran to Red River in addition to the 
above; in 1822 the Venture and the Hope ; in 1823 the Ex- 
periment, Expedition and the Natchitoches. 

In 1824and 1825 the Florence, Eliza, Louisville, Red River 
and the Superior. 

In 1826 the Planter, Virginia, Miami, Spartan and the Dol- 
phin. 

In 1827 and 1828 the Phoenix, Pilot, Cherokee, Robert 
Burns, Rover, Belle, Creole, Cincinnati and Rapides. 

In 1830 and 1831 the Gleaner, Paul Clifford and the Ver- 
million. 

In 1832 and 1834 the Beaver, Planter, Lioness, Bravo, 
Caspian and the Waverly. 

Between 1835 and 1840 thirty-six boats other than those 
named above ran to Red River; in 1838 Capt. Jesse Wright 
commanded his first boat in this trade, the Tidier; in 1839, 
Capt. P. Delma, the Velocipede; in 1840, Capt. Mike Welsh, 
the Creole and the Bogue Houma, and the same year Capt. 
Benj, Crooks, the Hunter. These captains all became promi- 



J Old Timer fails to explain how the steamboat De la Harp penetrated 
into " Mexican territory." 



236 Gould's history of river navigation. 



LAST OF THE RED RIVER TRANSPORTATION COMPANY. 

nent men, and of which, with others, an old steamboat clerk, 
who dates from 1845, will have more to say anon." 

" The Ashland, leaving to-day (July, 1882), will be the last 
Doat sent out by the New Orleans and Red River Transportation 
Com})auy prior to its dissolution. The first boat sent out after its 
organization (in June, 1875,) was the Col, A. P. Kouns, Capt. 
Isaac H. Kouns. At that time the following boats comprised 
the Hne, viz. : The Col. A. P. Kouns, R. T. Bryarly, La Belle, 
Texas, Lorts No. 3, Belle Rowland, O. H. Durfee, W. J. Be- 
han and the Maria Louise. All of these boats are things of 
the past, and no longer float upon the waters, except the W. 
J. Behan and the Maria Louise, which, together with the Jo 
Bryarly, Frank Williard Cornie Brandon, Ashland, John D. 
Scully, Alexandria, Silver City, Yazoo Valley, Jewel, Danube 
and the Jesse K Bell, comprise the line to-day, and seven 
barges besides. The I^aura Lee and the Kate Kinney were 
also in the line, but were withdrawn a short time previous to 
the election in June last. The dissolution of this company 
goes into effect next Tuesday at midnight, and then — and 
then — what! Ever so many people are curious to know. 

SOURCE OF RED RIVER. 
REMINISCENCES. 

Under the above head we published in Saturday's Democrat 
some historical facts in connection with the early settlement 
of Natchitoches. To7day from the same source we~ give the 
discovery of the headwaters of Red River. 

In 1806, three years after the cession of Louisiana to the 
United States an exploring party under Capt. Sparks entered 
Red River in boats, intending to ascend as far as possible to 
the Pawnee country, where they would purchase horses and 
proceed to the tops of the mountains. It was evident from 
this that they supposed Red River issued from the mountain 
country. They got as high as the great raft, where they were 
met by a Spanish force and ordered back, an order which, 
owing to their numbers, they had to obey. 

In 1819 and 1820, Col. Long, of the 'United States Topo 
graphical Engineers, on his return from an exploration of the 
Missouri and the country between that river and the head of 
the Arkansas, undertook to descend Red River from its source. 
The Colonel says: We arrived at a creek having a westerly 
course, which we took to be a tributary of Red River. We 



ITS DISCOVERY IN 1652 BY CAPT. MARCY. 237 

traveled the valley of this stream several hundred miles, when 
to our disappointment we discovered it to be the Canadian, a 
tributary of the Arkansas instead of Red River. Our horses 
and men being exhausted, it was impossible to retrace our 
steps. Dr. James, who accompanied Col. Long, in his journal 
of this expedition says: " Several persons have recently ar- 
rived at St. Louis from Sante Fe, and among others a brother 
of Capt. Shreve, who gives information of a large and fie- 
quented road which runs nearly due east from this place and 
strikes one of the branches of the Canadian. That at a con- 
siderable distance south of this point is the big plains, which 
is the princi[)al source of Red River." 

The source of Red River remained a mystery for many 
years, and it was not known until discovered by Capt. Marcy 
in 1852. He left Fort Belknap May 2, 1852; struck the 
Little Wichita; descending that stream he entered Red River 
and ascended it. On the sixteenth be camped near the mouth 
of Cash Creek, this being the i)oint at which he was directed 
to commence his exploration. Juue 26 the expedition reached 
the Staked Plains. It was very much elevated above the ad- 
joining country with almost vertical sides, covered with a 
scrubby growth of dwarf cedars, and from the summit the 
country spread out into a perfectly level plain as far as the 
eye could see. June 27 he reached the main south fork which 
he ascended, passing into the gorge of the great Llano Esta- 
cado. These lofty escarpments rise to a great height. As 
they rode along the bed of the stream, so near its source, 
they found the water very nauseating, owing to its passing 
through a bed of gypsum, and the men were made quite sick 
from drinking it. July 1 , 1852, they reached the source of Red 
River. This spring is in the gorge of the Llano Estacado, and 
bursting out from its cavernous reservoir leaps down over the 
huge mass of rocks below, and there commences its long 
journey to the Mississippi. These gigantic escarpments of 
sand stone rising to the giddy height of eight hundred feet on 
each side, gradually close until they are only a few yards 
apart, and tinally unite at the top, leaving a long narrow cor- 
ridor beneath, at the base of which the head spring of the 
principal or main branch of the Red River takes its rise. The 
water of this spring is as clear as crystal and perfectly pure. 
On climbing to the summit of this escarpment they found 
themselves on the level plains of the Llano Estacado, 
which spread from there in one uninterrupted descent to the 
base of the mountains in New Mexico. The geographical po- 
sition of this point was 34 min. 42 sec. north and longitude 



238 Gould's history of river navigation. 



FRENCH EXPEDITION TO RED RIVER IN 1714. 

103 deg. 7 min 11 sec. west. The approximate elevation 
above the sea, as determiued by frequent barometric observa- 
tions, is 2,450 feet. 

REMINISCENCES. 

In 1714 the French, who then held Louisiana, sent an ex- 
pedition to Red River as high as Natchitoches for the pur- 
pose of forming a settlement. They also explored the 
country westward as far as the Rio Grande, then occupied by 
the Spaniards, and who claimed jurisdiction east as far as Red 
River. 

In 1730 the French Governor Perriere organized an expe- 
dition to drive the Natchez tribe of Indians from the Red and 
Bhick River districts. The rendezvous was at Bayou Goula; 
from there they proceeded to the mouth of Red River, the ship 
Prince of Conde having been sent ahead with supplies. They 
ascended Black River, a lake near Trinity, where they met and 
captured the Indians after a five days' fight, whom they subse- 
quently sent to St. Domingo, where they were sold as slaves. 

In 1749 the province of Natchitoches contained sixty whites 
and 200 negroes, who raised cattle, corn, rice and tobacco. 

From 1745 to 1790 Spain held possession of Louisiana. 
Their settlements did not flourish, though communication 
with Red River was kept up. Natchitoches then contained a 
population of 800 white and black. 



BATTURE SET APART i'OR A LANDING. 239 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



OLD TIME STEAMBOATS — WHARFAGE DUES, ETC., AT THE PORT 
OF NEW ORLEANS. 

6 6^pHROUGH the kindness of Gen. John L. Lewis, I have 
-1- been permitted to examine a directory of this city i)ub- 
lished in 1823, of which I hand you extracts. The following 
statement will show the arrivals of loaded steamboats, barges, 
keel and Hat-boats within the limits of the city in 1821, from 
the upper country, together with the amount of wharfage or 
levee duty paid to the city corporation : — 

Steamboats, 287; barges and keel-boats, 174; flat-boats, 
441. Levee duty, $8,272. 

Each loaded flat-boat pa^s a duty of $fi ; boats or barges, 70 
feet or more in length, $10, and keel boats or rafts, $3. 
Steamboats pay a levee duty according to their tonnage as 
follows: 100 tons and under, $6, l.'iOtons, $9; 200 tons, $12; 
250 tons, $15; 300 tons, $18 ; 350 tons, $20 ; 400 tons, $22 ; 
500 tons, $26; 600 tons, $30. 

In the year ending October 1, 1817, 1,500 flat-boats and 
500 barges and keel-boats came down the Mississippi to this 
place loaded with produce. 

The batture which was formed by deposits from the river, 
which has a front of 3,400 feet, and an average depth of 470 
feet. This property has been set aside for the purpose of 
landing all steamboats, barges, keel and flat-boats. This bat- 
ture, or landing place, extends from Wither' s saw^-mill to 
Canal street. In this year New Levee street was laid out in a 
straight line from Wither's saw-mill to Canal street, having a 
space of 60 feet between the houses and the edge of the wharf. 

One-half the batture next the ciiy is exclusively'" appro- 
priated for steamboats, of which there are sometimes thirty 
or forty lying at a time. The activity of this commerce is as- 
tonishing, vessels of 645 tons are employed in it, and it is not 
unusual for the voyage to Louisville and back to be performed 
in thirty days, formerly forty men with great difficulty navi- 
gated a boat of 50 tons the same voyage in six months. All 
this commerce centers on the batture, and it would be difficult 
to select in any city in the world a spot in which more exten- 
sive business is done in the same space. From the Custom- 
house down to Esplanade street the levee front is set apart for 
the landing of ships, brigs and schooners." 



240 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



STEAMBOAT ARRIVALS IN NEW ORLEANS FROM 1812 TO 1823. 

" Gen. John L. Lewis says he has a distinct recollection of 
seeing the fii'st steamboat, the New Orleans, that landed at this- 
port in January, 1812. That the event was so wonderful that 
the Legislature adjourned for the purpose of giving her a grand 
reception; he also remembers the Vesuvius, the second steam- 
boat, and that she unfortunately run aground in December, 
1814, and therefore could not render any assistance at the time 
of the battle of New Orleans ; he also remembers the Etna, the 
third steamboat; he also says that the captains of these original 
boats were sailors or seamen and mentions that Capt. R. De 
Hart and John De Hart were sent out from New York by 
Livingston and Fulton to take command of their boats. It 
was only a few years after this when the barge men became 
captains of the Western steamboats. 

Note. — The saw mill of Mr. Withers was situated just in 
front of where the old Turo infirmary was built. 

" The following is an alphabetical list of all the boats that 

Those marked thus * 



have been in the New Orleans trade 
are either sunk or unfit for service 
from 1812 to 1823: — 
*^tna. 

Alabama. 

Alexandria. 

Bearer. 
*Buffalo. 

Car of Commerce 

Cincinnati. 



Comet. 
*Constitution. 

Courier. 

Expedition. 

Eagle. 

Elizabeth. 

Exchange. 

Eliza. 

Favourite. 

Fidelity. 
*Franklin. 

Frankfort. 

Gen'l Clark. 

Gen'l Green. 
*Gen'l Jackson. 

Gen'l Roberts. 
*Gen'l Harrison. 
*Gov. Shelby. 



Geo. Madison. 

Hecla. 

Hero. 

Harriet. 

Henderson. 

Hornet. 

Henry Clay. 

James Rose. 
*James Monroe. 

Johnson. 

Independence. 
*Kontucky. 

Louisiana. 

Maid of Orleans. 

ISIanhattan. 

Maysville. 

Mississippi. 

Missouri. . 

Mars. 

Mobile. 

Man dan. 

Napoleon. 

Neptune. 
*Newport. 
*New Orleans. 



or out of the trade — 

*Ohio. 

Olive Branch. 
• Osao-e. 

Paragon. 

Post Boy. 
*Pike. 

Providence. 

Rapide. 

Ramaps. 

Rifleman. 

Rocket. 

Robert Fulton. 
*St. Louis. 

Tamerlane. 

Tennessee. 

Telegraph. 

Thos. Jett'erson. 

Teche. 

United States. 

Vesuvius. 

Volcano. 
* Vesta. 

Washington. 
*Yankee 



FIRST STEAMBOAT THAT CROSSED THE ATLANTIC. 241 

The steamboat United States was the largest, her tonnage 
being 645 tons. The smallest was the Pike. Her tonnage 
was only 31 tons. The averaged tonnage of all the boats was 
about 150 tons each. 

]SiQTE, — You will see that from 1812 to 1823, that is, in 
eleven years, there were 75 steamboats landed at the port of 
New Orleans. This will make an average of about 7 new 
steamboats each year. I am under the impression that the 
list taken from the directory of 1823 is a perfect one, as the 
author must have had access to the Custom House records and 
also to the wharfage book. If you will make the calculation 
you will find that these 75 steamboats averaging 150 tons each 
amounted to only 11,250 tons. We have now upon the Miss- 
issippi six steamboats whose tonnage will average 2,440 tons 
each, or the six boats 12,400 tons." 

Old Timer. 



CHAPTER XL. 

OLIVER EVANS CREDITED BY BRITISH AUTHORITY. 

STEAM COACHES. 
[From Niles' Register, September 22, 1828, vol. 35.] 

The following account of steam coaches in Great Britian is 
of much interest at the present time. 

That they will become common tilings we have long be- 
lieved. 

It was in America that steam was first successfully applied 
for the ordinary purposes of navigation of rivers. 

The first steamboat that ventured on the ocean was Ameri* 
can, and the first that crossed the Atlantic, that penetrated 
the Baltic, and arrived at the capital of Russia was also Ameri- 
can. And in noticing the progress of perfection, in the ap- 
plicabihty of steam for moving of bodies on land, while 
yielding all due credit to British ingenuity and talents, we 
wish to record the fact, that the first application of its powers 
to this purpose was made by an American, and in the City of 
Philadelphia, by Oliver Evans, who entertained the project in 
1786, and communicated it to several persons as well as peti- 
tioned the Legislature of Pennsylvania concerning steam 
wagons for which he was thought insane. The State of 
Maryland, however, in 1782 granted him an exclusive right 
to make and use steam wagons for 14 years. 

16 



242 Gould's history of river navigation. 



FIRST STEAM ENGINES BUILT IN THE WEST. 

But Evans was poor and confidence was not placed in liia 
theory, so he obtained no pecuniary assistance, and it was not 
until 1804, that he was enabled to apply steam to propel 
bodies on land. 

He built a flat, or scow, a mile and half from the water, of 
the weight of about 20 tons, with a steam engine on board of 
only five horse power, for the purpose of cleansing ilocks, and 
when all was ready, he placed wheels under the flat, and by 
steam transported it to and launched it into the water, and 
with a paddle wheel, then navigated it down the Schuylkill to 
the Delaware and up the Delaware to Philadelphia, beating all 
the vessels on the river against a head wind. In 1812, Oli- 
ver Evans said, " I do verily believe the time will come when 
carriages propelled by steam will be in general use, as well 
for the transportation of passengers as goods, traveling at the 
rate of 15 miles an hour or 300 miles per day." 

THE FIRST ENGINE SHOP IN THE WEST. 

About the year 1812, Oliver Evans, sent his son, George 
Evans, to Pittsburgh, for the purpose of establishing an iron 
foundry, steam engme manufactory, mould makers shop and 
blacksmith shop with ten or twelve smith's forges and more 
than fifty workmen for making steam engines and other ma- 
chinery. This was in all probability the first engine building 
establishment erected upon the banks of the Western rivers. 
And most of the first high pressure engines for Western steam- 
boats were built at this establishment. There was also an 
engine building shop established at Brownsville, or Bridgeport, 
on the Monongahela river, about the same time. 

All the engines for Fulton & Livingston's first boats were 
built at Pittsburgh, as follows: New Orleans, 1811 ; Etna, 1815 ; 
Vesuvius, 1816, and Buffalo, 1816, had low pressure engines, 
built on the Watt & Bolton plan ; they were built at New York 
and transported across the Alleghany Mountains by wagons. 

THE second STEAMBOAT ENGINE BUILDERS 

I find any account of at Cincinnati, were Goodloe & Borden. 
They commenced as early as 1816, as this was the date at which 
the first steamboat was built at that place. They were suc- 
ceeded by Mess. Harkness & Co., who for many years built 
steamboat engines. 



TIRST SHIP CARPENTER VAXDUSEN, AT JEFFERSON VILLE. 243 

The first mention I find of a master ship carpenter at 
•Cincinnati is Mr. William Parsons ; he came originally from 
New York, where he had learned the trade of building ships. 
He built many of the original steamboats at Cincinnati. 

Mr. Crippin was the first ship joiner who built cabins for 
the original steamboats at Cincinnati; he emigrated from 
l^ew York and walked from that city to Cincinnati in lbl6 ; 
He learned his trade at New York, working upon the cabins of 
ships. Among those he worked upon was the celebrated 
United States man-of-war Brandywine, which was sent out 
in 1814 to the Mediterranean Sea to suppress the Algerine and 
Barbary pirates. 

The first master ship carpenter I find an account of at Jef- 
fersonville, Indiana, is a Mr. Vandusen from New York, in 
1818. He brought out with him from that city fifty ship car- 
penters for the purpose of building the first steamboat at that 
place, Avhich has since become so famous for building magnifi- 
•^cent steamboats. The first steamboat was named the United 
States, owned by Edmund Forestall of New Orleans, measured 
645 82-95 tons, and was said to have been the largest steam- 
boat in the world at that date. The next celebrated builder 
at this place was the ingenious Mr. AVilliam French, who was 
& master ship carpenter and engine builder, who in 1814 con- 
structed two steamboats at Brownsville, Pa. He had the repu- 
"tion of placing the first high pressure engine upon a Western 
steamboat. He built many magnificent steamers at Jeffersou- 
Tille from 1820 to 1840. 

SNAG-BOATS. 

The First Snaghoats Built for the Removal of Snags. 

The first appropriation for this purpose was made by Con- 
gress in 1828. Capt. Henry M. Shreve was appointed super- 
intendent of the work. He immediately commenced building 
the two first snaghoats at New Albany, Ind., assisted by Capts. 
Abraham Tyson and John Dillingham. These boats were 
double hulls, held together by immense cross beams and iron 
chains. The hulls, Capt. Moffet, inspector, says, were built 
by Dohrman & Humphries ; the engines were built by John 
Curry, of Louisville, Ky. They had several kinds of appli- 
ances on board for pulling snags and cutting them up. Capt. 
Moffet did the blacksmith work of making chains and 
fastenings. The boats were named the Heliopolis, Capt. 
JMoorehead, and Archimides, Capt. H. M. Shreve. Col. Long 



244 Gould's history of river navigation. 



CAPT. SHREVE AND THE SNAGBOATS IN 1830. 

was the United States engineer in charge of the improve- 
ments upon the Mississippi River. 

The tirst account of work done by the snagboats is as fol- 
lows : 1830 and 1831 — A Western paper states that the 
agent employed by the government, Capt. Shreve, has per- 
fectly succeeded in rendering about 300 miles of river as 
harmless as a mill-pond, and will in the course of a short pe- 
riod remove every obstruction from Trinity to Balize. His 
plan is to rundown the snags with a double steamboat; the- 
bows are connected by tremendous beams, pUited with iron; he 
puts on a heavy head of steam and runs the snag down ; they 
are found uniformly to break off at the point of junction witb 
the bottom of the river, and float away. 

1831 — The captains and crews of the snagboats Archimides- 
and Heliopolis, under the superintendence of Capt. Shreve, 
are progressing rapidly in removing obstructions to the navi- 
gation of the Western waters. The Heliopolis, Capt. Moore- 
head, has ascended the Arkansas River about 20 miles, and' 
after removing all the snags in that distance, on account of 
low water has returned to the Mississippi, and it will in the 
course of the week have cleared the channel of the Mississippi' 
between Helena and the mouth of the Arkanaas River. The 
business, as it now progresses, is effectually done. During 
the year, 1831, Capt. Shreve continued on down the river^. 
and made the cut off at the mouth of Red River. Capt. 
Moorehead continued during 1831 and 1832 to work down ta 
that river, removing all the snags that presented themselves. 

In 1832, Capt. H. M. Shreve Avas ordered to proceed' 
to Red River for the purpose of removing the great raft. His 
fleet of boats consisted of the snagboat Eradicator and twO' 
tenders, the Pearl and Laurel. The raft commenced at that 
time about Loggy Bayou and extended to Carolina Bluffs, a 
distance of 165 miles. It took six years to accomplish the 
work of removing this raft, so as to give good navigation be- 
tween the lower and upper Red River. 

Official report of Capt. Shreve, June 4, 1838, of the snag- 
boats Eradicator, Pearl and Laurel: On March 1, 1838, the 
first boat was enabled to force her way through the upper 
section of the raft, and up to the 29th tive merchant steam- 
boats passed up through the raft. On May 1, the navigation 
through the extent of the raft was considered safe. There 
were two boats lost near the head of the raft — the Black 



RED RIVER RAFT REMOVED IX 1838. 245 

Hawk and Revenue. The amount expended in opening the 
raft has been $311,000. 

Note. — The town of Trinity, mentioned in this account, 
was about six miles above the mouth of the Ohio, where the 
fcoats from the Ohio and Mississippi exchanged cargoes. It 
was many years after the establishment of this place, that 
Cairo was founded and became the port of exchanging freights. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

[From Sharfs' History of St. Louis.] 

PARTIArTACCOUNTS OF THE FLOODS IN THE MISSISSIPPI AND 

OHIO. 

THE first unusual rise in the Mississippi of which we have 
any account, occurred in 1542. 

In March of that 3'ear, while De Soto and his followers were 
at an Indian village on the west side of the " Rio Grande," as 
the early Spaniards called the Mississippi, which from its ele- 
vated position indicates the sight of Helena, in Arkansas, there 
was a rise in the river which covered all the surrounding coun- 
try as far as the eye could reach. 

In the village (represented to have been on high ground) 
the water rose from five to six feet above the earth, and the 
roofs of the Indian cabins were the only places of shelter. 
The river remained at this height for several days and then 
subsided rapidly. 

The earliest authentic account of the "American Bottom'* 
being submerged is that of the fiood in 1724. A document is 
to be seen in the archives of Kaskaskia, 111., which consists of 
a petition to the crown of France in 1725, for a grant of land 
in which the damage sustained the year before is mentioned. 
The villagers were driven to the bluffs on the opposite side of 
the Kaskaskia river. Their gardens and their crops were de- 
stroyed, and their buildings and their property much injured. 
We have no evidence of its exact height, but the whole 
American Bottom was submerged. This was probably in June. 

There was a tradition among the old French people many 
years since that there was an extraordinary rise of the river 
between 1740 and 1750, but we find no written or printed ac- 
count of it. 

In the year 1772 another flood came and portions of the 
American Bottom were again covered. Fort Charter in 1756 
stood half a mile from the Mississippi river. In 1776 it was 



246 Gould's history of river navigation. 

eighty yards. Two years after Capt. Pittman, who surveyed 
the Fort in 1768, states: " The bank of the Mississippi River 
next the Fort is continually falling in, being worn away by 
the current which has been turned from its course by a sand 
bank now increased by considerable of an island, covered with 
willows. Many experiments have been tried to stop this 
growing evil, but to no purpose. Eight years ago the river 
was fordable to the island. The channel is now forty feet 
deep." 

FORT CHARTER DESTROYED IN 1772. 

About the year 1770, the river made further encroach- 
ments. But in 1772, when it inundated portions of the 
American Bottom, it swept away the land to the Fort, and un- 
dermined the wall which tumbled into the river. A large and 
heavily timbered island now occupies the sand bar of Capt. 
Pittman's time. 

The next high water occurred in 1785, during which Kas- 
kaskia and Cahokia and large portions of the American Bot- 
tom were submerged. Concerning this great inundation 
there is but meager information. This year, however, is 
known in the annals of Western history as the year of the 
" great waters." 

In 1844 it was contended by some of the old settlers of 
Kaskaskia and Cahokia, who remembered the great flood of 
1785, that the water attained a greater height than in the last 
mentioned year. 

It is certain at Kaskaskia the water attained a greater height 
in 1844 than was reached in 1785. 

This is not predicated upon the mere recollection of indi- 
viduals, but was ascertained by existing marks of the height 
of the flood of that year, after the subsidence of the water in 
1844. It was then proved that in the last mentioned year, 
the water rose ttvofeet and five incJies above high water of 1785. 

The destruction of property by this freshet was compara- 
tively small. 

The mighty stream spread over a wilderness tenanted only 
by wild beasts and birds, and the few inhabitants then residing 
within the range oC its destructive sweep, easily escaped with 
small loss, to the high lands. 

From 1785 to 18il, there were no destructive floods, al- 
though an occasional overflow, suflicient to fill the lake and 
low grounds on the American Bottom. 

This was in the year preceding the great " Shakes," as the 
earthquakes were called. The river commenced rising at St. 
Louis early in May, and by the 15th had spread over a large 



FLOODS IN THE MISSISSIPPI. 247 

portion of the American Bottom, and by the first of June it 
was out of its banlis only in low places. On the sixth it again 
commenced to rise and continued to rise until the 14th, when 
it came to a stand. But the greater part of the bottom, 
Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Prairie Du Pont, Cantine, and nearly all 
the settlements in the bottom were underwater and the inhabi- 
tants had fled to the high lands. 

The " common fields " at St. Genevieve were entirely sub^ 
merged, the corn was nearly covered. 

A story is still told by the old inhabitants of the village that 
the panic-stricken people appealed to Father Maxwell, the 
village priest, to " pray away the water." It is said he gave 
no encouragement at first, until the water came to a stand. 
Then he proposed to the people to drive off the water by say- 
ing masses. This they did, and as the water fell rapidly, the 
ground was soon dry and a fine crop of corn was raised, 
Avhich was divided with the priest in conformity to the agree- 
ment for saying the masses. 

The flood of 1811 exceeded all others until 1823. In this 
year the water in the Mississippi commenced rising rapidly 
about the 8th of May. It continued to rise until 23d of the 
month, when it came to a stand at St. Louis. It had then en- 
tirely covered the American Bottom, and the people from all 
the towns had sought refuge on the bluffs, or in St. Louis. 

The houses in the lower part of the city were entirely sur- 
rounded by water, and the store at the foot of Oak street, 
occupied by John Shackford, had five feet of water on the 
floor. 

The loss of stock and other property on the bottom oppo- 
site the city was very large, but no estimate has ever been 
made of the loss. 

Like the flood of 1811, no means are at hand to determine 
the height of the water, as compared with previous freshets. 

In 1826 the American bottom was again submerged and the 
inhabitants in all the towns were compelled to flee to the 
bluffs, and St. Genevieve share the same fate as did all 
the settlers on the Mississippi Bottoms. 

The amount of stock and crops lost was immense. By the 
25th of June the flood had subsided and the people again 
sought their homes and anxiously awaited the next freshet, 
which occurred in 1844. 

The winter of 1823 and 1824 was remarkable for the amount 
of rain-fall in the Northwest. The river began to raise early 
in 1844, and by the first of May, was nearly bank full. By 
the 6th the people at St. Louis began to be severely alarmed. 



248 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The water had already reached the stores on Front street, and 
the merchants had removed their stocks of goods to the second 
stories, and the bank opposite in Illinois and the whole Amer- 
ican Bottom was submerged. 

The water came to a stand on the 21st of May, and declined 
gradually until the 7th of June, when it had gotten within its 
banks. 

A succession of violent rain storms commenced on the 3d 
of June, and continued until the 10th, and were general through- 
out the Northwest and all the streams were bank full. By the 
12th the river was again breaking over the banks and the peo- 
ple in thebottoms were fleeing for their lives, leaving everything 
behind. 

By the 5th the people of the whole valley were alarmed, 
and it was asserted an unprecedented flood was inevitable. 

On the 12th the water was six inches higher than it had 
been a month before. On the Ibth the steamer Missouri 
Mail arrived from the Missouri River, and reported the river 
rising at St. Joseph, atthe rate of seven feet in 24 hours. All 
the tributaries were full and overflowing their banks. The 
whole country from Western to Glasgow was under water and 
on the Camden Bottom it was from six to eight feet deep. 

In the St. Louis Republican of 19th June is an account of 
the situation: — 

" We have taken some pains to ascertain with certainty the 
height of the present rise as compared with former freshets. 
But have been very unsuccessful. Within the memory of 
many of the oldest inhabitants there has been three extraordi- 
nary freshets, one in 1811, one in 1823 and the lastone in 1826. 

The one in 1811 seems to have been the highest. In that 
year, boats passed from Ste. Genevieve to Kaskaskia and the 
water covered the whole American Bottom to the depth of sev- 
eral feet." 

On the 20th of June, 1844, the Mississippi at St. Louis was 
from three to six miles wide and in some places nine miles. 

The water was two or three feet deep in the lower part of 
the city and at the corner or Front and Pine streets it was to 
the top of the doors on the first floors. 

Soulard's addition and St. George were entirely submerged. 

On the 23d the water rose fourteen inches and came to a 
stand, remained stationary until June 28th, when it began to 
recede, and by the middle of July had reached an ordinary 
stage. 



NUNS ABANDON KASKASKIA. 249 

During this freshet steamboats were employed as ferry 
•boats, at many points in the valley of the Mississippi and Mis- 
souri, where ordinariU^ only horse and flat-boats were used. 
The rapidity of the current and the increased distance render- 
ed the usual mode entirely inadequate. Frequently trips were 
made from St. Louis to Belleville a distance of twelve miles, 
across the American Bottom with small steamboats, and 
many persons availed themselves of the novelty of the excur- 
sions. 

There is no evidence to prove the Mississippi or the Missouri 
have ever been as high since their discovery as in 1844, al- 
though some writers claim that in 1785 it exceeded 1844. 

The late Dr. B. W. Brooks, of Jonesboro, 111., in writing 
of the flood in 1844, says: " This inundation was ten or twelve 
feet higher than that of 1811, or of 1826, and higher than 
ever known except in 1785, when it rose thirty feet above the 
common level and was the greatest flood kiiown for one hun- 
dred and fifty years." 

Mr. Cerre, the oldest French settler in St. Louis, says the 
inundation in 1785 was not as high by four or five feet, as in 
1844. In which opinion all old settlers in Kaskaskia agree — 
claiming there was one point in the town that was not cov- 
ered in 1785, which was five feet under water in 1844. 

The steamer Indiana was chartered to take the JVu^is 
from Kaskaskia to St. Louis and received them on board at 
Col. Menard's door. The boat followed the road the whole 
distance, leaving the river far to the left. Some two hundred 
citizens went up on the Indiana, leaving the town from ten to 
twenty feet under water. Many houses were floated from their 
foundations and barns, fences and stock were swept off. 

The city engineer at St. Louis ascertained on the 22d of 
June that the water was three feet four inches over the city 
directrix. This gave thirty-f our feet nine ^?^c^es plumb water, 
above low water mark. 

The next freshet in the Mississippi of importance occurred 
in 1851. 

On the 30th of May it was fifteen feet below the high water 
mark of 1844 at St. Louis. The rise continued the most of 
June and on the 23d of that month it was only four feet nine 
inches below the hiojh water mark of 1844. 

From this date it commenced to fall, after having; almost 
devastated all the bottom lands on the Missouri, Illinois, Wa- 
bash and Upper Mississippi. 

In 1854 there was another damaging flood in the Mississippi 
in which an immense amount of loss occurred in Arkansas, 



250 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION 

Mississippi and Louisiana, and almost the entire levee at St. 
Louis was submerged. 

HIGH WATER TEARS. 

In 1858 the Mississippi again was at flood height and reached 
the flood of 1844 less about two and a half feet. The Ohio 
being very high at the same time great destruction of property 
followed. Cairo and many other cities and towns in the valley 
was overflowed by the breaking of levees, caving of banks, etc. 

In 1863 the river at St. Louis was again very high and the 
* water came into stores on the levee. 

In 1867, 1871, 1875 were high water years, and while but 
little damage was done in the upper river valleys great losses 
occurred in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana in consequence 
of the combined waters of all the upper rivers coming out at 
about the same time. As a rule, fortunately, the Ohio and its 
tributaries throw out their great floods some mouths earlier 
than the Mississippi. But when they all come at once there- 
is no escaping an overflow. 

[From laternal Commerce of the United States.] 

The destructive floods of the Mississippi Valley not only 
sweep over the alluvial lands of the lower valley between Cairo 
and the Gulf, but frequently occur in the valleys of the Upper 
Mississippi, the Missouri, Ohio, Red, Arkansas, Tennessee, 
Cumberland, Yazoo, and other rivers of this comprehensive 
system, carrying with them enormous destruction to crops, 
roads, railroads, postal routes, buildings, live stock, commerce 
and industries. They are often attended with the loss of life 
itself. 

Mr. Morey, in his report to the House of Representatives 
during the Forty-second Congress, said of the floods of 1868 
and 1871: "The destruction caused by the last two floods 
above named in the Ouachita Valley is almost incredible. A 
valley of almost unexampled fertility, capable of raising, be- 
side corn and stock in great abundance, at least 75,000 bales 
of cotton, worth, at the average price of this season, more 
than $5,000,000, was inundated, plantations destroyed, build- 
ings washed away, cattle and swine by the thousand starved 
or drowned," etc. 

Another flood in 1874 was still more destructive. Mr. 
Ellis, in his report to the House in 1876, says of it: " The loss 
by the flood of 1874 was $13,000,000. This year, so far as it 
can be ascertained, it is $2,000,000. And this makes the total 
sum $15,000,000 in actual material wealth within three years.'* 



LOSSES FROM HIGH WATER. 



25^1 



" THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1881.'* 

The great flood throughout the length and breadth of the 
Mississippi Valley in the spring of 1881 was unusually de- 
structive, the damage amounting to many millions of dollars. 
As it is impo>isible to give an accurate estimate of the total 
damage, we will give a few illustrations by extracts from the press 
dispatches published in leading daily papers of that time : — 

" Omaha April 25. — The Hood still continues. The river 
rose 2 inches last night at this point, but it has done no further 
damage to manufacturing interests on the water front. Much 
lumber in the yards has been removed to higher ground. The 
Union Pacific shops and smelting works, Boyd's packing house 
and distillery are still under water, and 1,600 men are out of 
employment. 

" At Council Bluffs one-half the city is under water, and 
600 people are homeless. All passengers from eastern trains 
are transferred by boat to the Union Pacific depot. 

" A dispatch from Sioux City announces a fall of 6 inches 
at that point. 

" This mornino; high winds set in from the north and stirred 
up the vast body of water north of the long embankment lead- 
ing up to the Union Pacific bridge on the east side, and the 
high waves dashing against it soon washed out the dirt close 
up to the ties. This was discovered just in time to prevent an 
accident, and a large force of men were put to work piling 
sand bags alonof the north side, thus breaking^ the force of the 
waves and saving the embankment. Two hours more and the 
water would have taken out a section of several hundred feet 
of the approach to the bridge. The transfer of passengers, 
baggage, and mails is continued by boat at Council Bluffs. 
There is no material change in affairs here since yesterday. 
The Union Pacific road is runnino; res^ular trains. 

" The village of Waterloo, near Elkhorn River, 25 miles 
west of Omaha, is flooded to a depth of 5 feet. 

"The overflow which covers the country for many miles is 
doing considerable damage to farms in Elkhorn Valley. 

" Some citizens of Waterloo claimed their town was flooded 
owing to the Union Pacific Railroad embankment holding the 
water back, and they threatened to open a channel through it, 
but were prevented by the timely appearance of a sheriff and 
posse of constables from Omaha. Six ice-houses, located in 
Omaha Bottoms, have been wrecked by high water and ren- 
dered a total loss. A large wagon-bridge came down the river 
to-day, landing on the east side of the smelting works. 



252 Gould's history of river navigation. 



HIGH WATER ON THE UPPER RIVER. 

^^ Hannibal, Mo., April 25. — The Sny levee broke at 3 
o'clock this morning, at a point about a mile and a half above 
East Hannibal. The crevasse is 130 feet wide, and the water 
is still catting both below and above the break. Near East 
Hannibal there are several weak points liable to go at any 
moment. The river is 19 feet and 1 inch above low-water 
mark, and is still rising, but very slowly. 

"Trains from Quincy to Hannibal, via the Chicago, Bur- 
lington and Quincy Kailroad, are abandoned, the track be- 
tween Fall Creek and East Hannibal inside the levee being 
under water. It is estimated that 30,000 a(;res of fall wheat 
had been sown inside the levee, all of which is now a total 
loss. There are nearer 10,000 acres, the yield of which here- 
tofore had averaged 30 bushels to the acre. This season it 
stood finer than ever. The loss on wheat alone is placed at 
$1,000,000. The river is still slowly rising, and has now 
nearly reached the highest point of last year. 

" tSaint Louis, April 25. — The river is rising and rapidly 
approaching the danger line. A rise of another foot and the 
water will submerge some of the low lands in the northern 
part of the city, and inundate part of the bottoms on the Illi- 
nois side of the river. iSIuch apprehension is felt for prop- 
erty on both sides of the river, and measures are being taken 
to protect it. Old steamboat men are predicting a flood of 
unusual magnitude, and say that if the present warm weather 
continues, and particularly if there is much rainfall in the 
north, a freshet equal to that of 1844 will probably follow. 

" Bismarck, April 25. — One mile of track and thirty pile 
bridges washed away constitute the extent of damages on 
the Xorthern Pacific extension. Night and day forces are at 
work repairing, and trains to the end of the track are prom- 
ised in a few days. 

^^ Kansas City, April 25. — The levee which was built to 
protect the town of Harlem and the broad bottom lands oppo- 
site the city from overflowing gave way on Saturday night, 
and a strong current, 10 feet deep, is now running at the rate 
of 5 or 6 miles an hour over the tracks of the Hannibal and 
Saint Joseph, Council Bluffs, Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, 
and Wabash roads. ¥ov nearly a mile all these tracks are 
supposed to be washed out. The levee gave way about 10 
o'clock at night. The water is overflowing a large number of 
farms to the depth of from 4 to 6 feet. 

" Saint Paul, Minn., April 25. — A special from Fergus 
Falls says the upper country is an unbroken sheet of water. 



DAMAGE FROM HIGH WATER IN 1844. 253 

beginning at a point about 25 miles below Saint Vincent and 
extending this way to the vicinity of Crookston. Twenty-live 
miles south of Stevenson the water has swept away the track 
of the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad, and all 
railroad travel is suspended. 

''/Saint Paul, Minn., April 27. — The flood at St. Paul, 
caused by the coming down of high water in the Minnesota 
River, continues. The water has now reached 18 feet in the 
channel — 3 feet higher than during the June rise of last year, 
and the highest point reached since the great flood of 180 7. 
There is to-day scarcely a foot of uncovered land in the entire 
country west of St. Paul, flat lands, over which the waters are 
not now running riot. Old residents there affirm that 
although they have frequently seen the water cover the low 
lands, they have never known the current so strong as to sweep 
over them with such overwhelming velocity as it is doing to- 
day. The current carried away the bank on which Fifth 
street is built this mornins:, and there is only a single road re- 
maining uncovered between river and bluff. A visit to the 
scene to-day found hundreds of houses isolated by water and 
the occupants busy moving. The sides of the raised embank- 
ment were filled in many places with all manner of household 
effects, which had been brought in boats from the inundated 
residences, and around which were the owners watching and 
guarding the same while awaiting the arrival of vehicles to 
transport the goods to some place of safety. 

" Omaha, Neb., April 27. — The river has fallen 10 
inches here. A further fall of 18 inches is reported at Sioux 
City. Information having been received at Nebraska City 
that many people living on the river north of that city were in 
great peril, one of the ferry-boats started out yesterday and 
rescued nearly 200 men, women and children, some of whom 
had been without food two or three days, and were suffering 
extremely from hunger. These people were lodged in the 
opera house, the city hall, churches, and other public 
buildings. * * * 

" East Nebraska, on the Iowa side of the river, is entirely 
flooded, and all the inhabitants have been compelled to abandon 
their homes and seek refuge in Nebraska City proper. 
Thousands of people along the river bottoms in Nebraska, Mis- 
souri, Iowa and Kansas are homeless and destitute. Passen- 
gers, mail, and baggage trains arrived here same as the last 
few days, only did it more rapidly than heretofore. It will be 
at least one week before the railroads get into the same shape 
as before the flood. 

"•Saint, JoaepJi, Mo., April 27. — The river at this point 



254 Gould's history of river navigation. 

is 22 feet 6 inches above low- water mark, and rising slowly. 
Many families have been rescued from their inundated houses 
in the bottom lands during the day, generally in destitute cir- 
cumstances. All the available flat-boats have been in use re- 
moving people and stock. An old man and his wife, 76 to 80 
years of age, were to-day rescued from the Elm wood bottom, 
where they were living in a small, one-story house, having 
been two or three days surrounded by the swift current, a mile 
from land, and the water 2 feet deep in the house. * * * 

^^ Atcliison, Kans., April 27. — Contrary to expectations, 
the river has continued to rise steadily during the past twenty- 
four hours, and is now 22 feet 5 inches above low-water mark, 
and at least twenty inches above the level of the great flood of 
1844. The Missouri Pacific road continues to afford the only 
connection with the East, and it has to send its passengers and 
mails around by way of Topeka. 

" Chicago, April 20. — The total loss of property by the 
flood on the Missouri River and its tributaries between Sioux 
City and Bismarck is estimated at $2,500,000. Below Sioux 
City, including the damage done at Omaha, Council Bluffs, 
Kansas City, and the great overflow on both sides of the Mis- 
souri between these cities and St. Louis, the amount of loss is 
computed at $1,500,000.'* 

DEBATE IN UNITED STATES SENATE ON FLOOD OF 1882. 

"In the spring of 1882 another destructive flood spread over 
the lower Mississippi Valley. Its damage in the States of Mis- 
sissipi and Arkansas was described in the following debate in 
the United States Senate, February 23, 1882: — 

"Mr. George. Mr. President, I should like to be in- 
dulged in making a remark or two explanatory of the magni- 
tude of the disaster referred to in the joint resolution. 

" The district overflowed from the breaking of the levee 
embraces all the Mississippi Delta between Memphis and 
Vicksburg, about 15 miles in length and about 40 miles in 
breadth. All of it is either now under water or will be in a 
short time. I desire also to state, for the information of the 
Senate, that four-fifths of the population which inhabit that 
district is composed of colored laborers, who have not the 
means of support during the time when this overflow will 
necessarily interrupt labor. 

"Mr. Ingalls. What is the estimated number of laborera 
who have been rendered destitute by this inundation? 

" Mr. George. They inhabit a district about 150 miles 



DAMAGE FROM THE OVERFLOW IN 1852. 255 

long by about 40 wide. 1 suppose there must be from 50,000 
to 75,000 inhabitants in that district. 

" Mr. Teller. What proportion of them will be rendered 
destitute ? 

"Mr. George. Four-fifths. I desire also to state for the 
information of Senators who are not familiar with the length 
or duration of an overflow in the Mississippi bottoms, that it 
is not an affair of a day or a week. The overflows in that 
section of the Mississippi bottoms generally continue from 
four to six weeks before there is a subsidence of the waters ; 
and during all that time there is a total suspension of all labor ; 
the water gets all over the whole country. 

" I have confined my statement to the destitution in Missis- 
sippi. There are contiguous districts on the western bank of 
the Mississippi River, in the State of Arkansas, that suffer 
from the same overflow. The Senator from Arkansas [Mr. 
Garland] will make a statement upon that subject. 

" I shall ask to have the joint resolution referred to the 
Committee on the Improvement of the Mississippi River and 
its Tributaries, in the hope that that committee may act upon 
it with promptness, as the matter will not admit of delay. 

" Mr. Garland. The information that the Senator from 
Mississippi gives in reference to his own State applies exactly 
to the State of Arkansas, which is in front of the overflowed 
Mississippi River. The intelligence that I receive from that 
portion of the State of Arkansas through telegrams, letters 
and newspapers, represents the destruction there as wide- 
spread, and as absolutely appalling and unprecedented. The 
overflow has taken barns and granaries, and has swept away 
the last stock the farmers and planters of that country owned 
and had to live upon. 

" I am not prepared in my own mind to say just exactly 
what relief, or what measure of relief. Congress can or should 
afford, but certainly there is now a just demand for relief, if 
it is in the power of Congress to grant it. I hope the joint 
resohition will be referred to the committee indicated by the 
Senator from Mississippi, and that that committee may see 
proper to give it early consideration and report some measure 
for the relief of those suffering people. 

" Mr. Hampton. I just came into the Senate when the 
joint resolution was sent to the Clerk's desk and read, and as 
I am very familiar with that section of country, having been 
there a great deal, I wish to make a statement in regard to it. 

" The area of land which will be overflowed if the river 
i:ises as high as it has done formerly will cover the richest por- 



256 Gould's history of river navigation. 

tion of the Mississippi Valley on the Arkansas side and on the 
Mississippi side. I am more familiar with it on the Missis- 
sippi side than on the Arkansas side ; but it will cover the 
most productive and finest cotton-growing territory in the 
wiiole State. I have known the river to be at that point 
sometimes nearly 150 miles wide, for it.covers from the Yazoo 
hills on the one side to the Arkansas blutFs on the other, and 
in that whole section of country, if the river is as high as these 
dispatches say it is, there will be hardly any land at all 
above overflow. There are only a few spots in that great Mis- 
sissippi bottom which are above overflow, and the destruction 
not only of stock, but of the incoming crop will be so great 
that I have no hesitation in saying the dispatches from the 
governor of Mississippi give but a faint idea of the destitution 
and starvation that will follow there. 

" My friend from Mississippi thinks that there are 75,000 
people in this area covered. I think he has underestimated 
the number very much. 

" Mr. George. I spoke of the Mississippi side. 

" Mr. Hampton. On the Mississippi side I think the num- 
bers would be very much larger than that. Nearly the whole 
of those people are colored people ; they rent the land and 
the loss will fall upon them. They have made no provisions 
at all for immediate sustenance, and unless some aid can be 
given promptly, I have no question that there will be starva- 
tion and infinite suffering in that whole country." 

In the spring of 1832 an unusually destructive flood in the 
Ohio River Valley submerged a large portion of the city of 
Cincinnati which was very forcibly described in the follow- 
ing dispatch from Murat Halstead, February 16, 1883: — 

" The loss of life has not been very great, but the destruc- 
tion of household property is enormous, and clothing, shelter- 
ing, and feeding the poor who have fled from their homes will 
strain all resources. The care of property in the submerged 
district is a great task, and our military companies are out at 
night patroling the streets. The school-houses are crowded 
with fugitives. The coal supply of the city is under water. 
The water-works are overwhelmed. The gas-works are sub- 
merged. Our condition is in many respects critical, but noth- 
ing but a sudden and immense rainfall beyond all example can 
prevent our relief by the fall of the river. There are remark- 
able coincidences between this monstrous rise in the Ohio and 
the December overflows of the Rhine and Danube. The par- 
allel between the Rhine especially and the Ohio in the origin, 
progress, extent, and duration of the floods is very striking^ 



COMPARISON BETWEEN THE RHINE AND THE OHIO. 257 

and the correspondence in the two cases may be traced also in 
the intelligent compassion and remarkable liberality with 
which the sufferings of those made homeless, whether on the 
Ehine or the Ohio, were regarded and relieved by the enlight- 
ened and the benevolent." 

The above are but illustrations of the frequent and whole- 
sale destruction and desolation caused by the floods through- 
out the length and breadth of the great valley. But they are 
sufficient to show that these floods pay no attention to State 
lines and that they are national in extent and magnitude. 

EFFECT OF THE FLOODS. 

CREVASSES. 

** Despite all this work, however, the Lower ^Mississippi Val- 
ley has suffered severely from floods and crevasses due to de- 
fective levees, to crawflsh or rat holes, to rotten or defective 
rice flumes, to caving banks, storms, or other causes. Besides 
these crevasses already noted in the early history of levees, 
the following are the more important and destructive of the 
past half century : — 

Flood of 1828. — This flood occurred before the country 
above Red River Landing was much settled, and it is probable 
that its marks have been confounded with those of 1815 in 
many localities. The Saint Francis and Yazoo bottoms were 
deeply inundated, being entirely unprotected by levees. 

Relative to this flood in the Tensas Bottom, it was the high- 
est of which we have even traditions. The whole region was 
under water. In the western part of the Atchafalaya basin 
the flood was the greatest of which we have record, there be- 
ing no levees for several miles below the mouth of Red River. 
The overflow extended to the extreme western limit of the 
alluvial formations instead of only 6 to 8 miles from Bayou 
Atchafalaya as in ordinary floods. The plantations along the 
upper part of the Teche were not flooded, but the crops were 
lost on those within the influence of the backwater from the 
Atchafalaya overflow. 

The eastern part of the Atchafalaya basin, indeed, the 
whole region bordering upon the Mississippi below the head 
of this basin, seems to have nearly escaped damage, the only 
exception being the Grosse Tete region, which was deeply 
flooded by backwater from the Atchafalaya overflow and by a 
break in the Grand Levee of the parish of Point Coupee, near 
Morganza. 

17 



258 Gould's history of river navigation. 

flood of '44, '49 and '50 on lower mississippi. 

Flood of 1844. — A considerable rise occurred in April 
from a freshet in Arkansas River. In May, however, before 
the lower river had subsided, another and much greater Hood 
in the Arkansas occurred. Above the mouth of the Red River 
the country was more or less flooded, but Red River, being 
fortunately low, the Atchafalaya carried off enough water to 
protect the plantations below the mouth of that stream from 
serious damage. This was the condition of the river in June 
when the great combined flood of the Upper Mississippi and 
the Missouri, which has rendered this year memorable in river 
annals, occurred. 

The country above the mouth of the Red River was gener- 
ally flooded. The St. Francis and Yazoo bottoms were nearly 
unprotected by levees and the water had free entrance. The 
Tensas bottom was badly inundated through breaks in the 
levees. Below the Red River Landing the country escaped 
with but little injury, owing to the very low stage of the Red 
River, which allowed the Atchafalaya to carry off the greater 
part of the surplus discharge of the Mississippi. 

Flood of 1849. — The gauge at Carrollton indicates that 
the river rose nearly to highwater mark in the latter part of 
January, and remained there with occasional oscillations until 
the middle of May. 

Above Red River Landing the ravages occasioned by this 
flood were comparatively slight. 

The St. Francis and Yazoo bottoms were inundated, but to 
an extent not unusual for great flood years. Below Red River 
Landing the injury done was so immense that the flood is 
justly classed among the most destructive ever known. On 
April 7 a crevasse broke on the west bank, about 15 miles 
above New Orleans, at Fortier's plantation. This flooded the 
country between the Mississippi and the Bayou La Fourche to 
a depth of about 4 feet, and this submerged the rear of many 
rich sugar plantations. The effect of this crevasse upon the 
bed of the river has been much discussed. On the left bank 
a crevasse occurred on May 3, at Sauve's plantation, 17 miles 
above New Orleans, by which the city was inundated. The 
break remained open forty-eight days, and did an immense 
amount of damage. 

Flood of 1850. — It appears that there were four principal 
rises this year, of which the first and second produced very 
little, if any, damage. The third was the highest, in the lat- 
ter part of March," and the fourth, in the middle of May. 
The damage occasioned by this flood was immense. The 



FLOODS OF 1858 AND 1862. 259 

Saint Francis and Yazoo bottoms were not protected by 
levees, and both were deeply flooded. The Tensas bottom 
was submerged more effectuall}'^ than in any year subsequent 
to 1828. The principal breaks were above the Louisiana line, 
which flooded Bayou ^h^con. 

The water rose steadily until March 15, then declined 
slowly until early in April, then rose again until the middle of 
May, when it attained its highest point, and then rapidly sub- 
sided. At the mouth of Black River, the flood was 3 feet 
above that of 1814, and 5 feet below that of 1828. It is 
needless to add that nearly the whole region was submerged 
and the crops destroyed. Below Red River Landing the 
country fared but little better. 

The water pouring from Red River exceeded the discharg- 
ing capacity of Bayou Atchafalaya, and the surplus forced its 
way into the Mississippi by both of the mouths of Old River. 
The flood from above, augmented by this new supply, main- 
tained an elevation sufficient to keep the numerous crevasses 
below Red River Lauding actively discharging for more than 
four months. The basin between Bayou La Fourche and the 
Mississippi escaped nearly uninjured. 

The crops upon the left bank above New Orleans were much 
injured by the celebrated Bonnet Carre crevasse, which at- 
tained width of nearly 7,000 feet, and continued flowing for 
more than six months. 

Flood of 1858. — In the flood of 1858 there were four 
great rises. The first, caused mainly by a flood in the Ohio, 
occurred in December, 1857. The second rise occurred in 
Ihe latter part of March and the first part of April, 1858, and 
was caused by a general swelling of the lower tributaries of 
the Missouri, Upper Mississippi, and Ohio. The third great 
rise occurred in the latter part of April. The Tennessee was 
unusually high. 

The last and greatest rise in the flood of 1858, occurred at 
the head of the alluvial regions in June. It inundated the 
city of Cairo. It washed away miles of levees along the 
Saint Francis front, and poured rapidly into the bottom lands 
•of that river. In the White River swamps the same condi- 
tion existed. The Yazoo and Tensas bottoms, on the con- 
trary, were comparatively empty. The June rise terminated 
the flood. 

I^lood of 1862. — Beyond doubt this was one of the great- 
est floods which ever occurred on the Mississippi, but the war 
raging at the time has so obliterated all records that it must 
always remain classed with the traditional overflows of 1815 
.and 1825. 



260 Gould's HISTORY of river navigation. 

FLOODS OF 1867 AND 1874. 

We know that there was a great flood in the Ohio River at 
Cincinnati, and also in the Cumberhmd some time in the 
spring of 1862, and a destructive overflow in the Wabash in 
February. At Cairo the liighest water occurred May 2, and' 
was 1.2 feet above the high water of 1858. It is believed that 
there was no flood m the Yazoo or Red Rivers at the date of the 
high water in 1862 (except water returning from the swamps), 
but the records are too defective to render this certain. 

Flood of 1867 . — In some respect its origin was peculiar. 
The heavy downfall of snow and rain in the Ohio Valley, a 
sudden thaw caused moderate floods in the Alleghany and 
Monongahela Rivers and a great flood in the Wabash, the 
combined effects of which caused a sudden rise in the Ohio. 

At Helena the first rise culminatedMarch 14, standing 1 foot 
above high water of 1858, and eight-tenths of a foot below 
that of i862. 

The river then subsided about three-tenths of a foot, but 
again swelled to the highest point on April 1, being two-tenths 
of a foot above first rise. There was a moderate freshet in 
both the Arkansas and White Rivers; the Yazoo discharged a. 
considerable volume ; in the Red River there was a considera- 
ble flood in June, due chiefly from the Ouachita. 

The Atchafalaya basin was deeply flooded through a break 
in the Grand levee near Morganza. The Teche country was 
under water. The actual water-mark of 1867 was, in general, 
a little higher than that of 1858. 

Flood of 1874. — In February the rain-fall throughout the 
alluvial regions was not unusual, and the river was generally 
about at mid-^tage. 

In March heavy rains prevailed throughout the lowland be- 
low Cairo, thus filling the swamps and swamp-rivers, and rap- 
idly raising the Mississippi. * In April these rains became 
excessive, and extended eastward over the valley of the Tennes- 
see and Cumberland Rivers. In Missouri tiie breaks were 
very numerous. Between Commerce, Mo., and the Louisiana 
line there were 136.5 miles of crevasses and breaks. 

The flood of 1874 rose 1.2 feet higher at Helena than in 1858. 
There was no great flood, properly speaking, in the Arkansas, 
River in 1874. In the White River, there was a destructive 
overflow. In the Yazoo, there was the largest freshet on rec- 
ord, due to rain-water alone. The combined rain and crevasse 
water in the Yazoo raised the Mississippi at Vicksburg 3 feet, 
during the last three weeks of April. At Alexandria, the Redi 
River rose 23 feet between February 1 and April 4. 



THE GREAT BOKXET CARRE CREVASSE. 261 

In the Ouachita the greatest flood on record occurred. 
Bolivar County, Mississippi, suffered severely from a rise in 
the Arkansas and White liivers in March. The bottom lands 
of the Tensas were flooded through the crevasse in Carroll 
Parish. The overflow of the Atchafala^-a basin was extreme 
in this flood. Bayou Teche was deeply inundated from Saint 
Martinville down. The Bonnet Carre crevasse raised Lake 
Pontchartrain suddenly about 2 feet. 

The suffering in lower Louisiana this year was great. Hun- 
dreds of persons were actually in danger of starvation. Aid 
was asked for, and large sums of money were raised in New 
York. Boston and other Northern cities and States for the 
benefit of those residing in the overflowed region in Louisi- 
ana. Boston alone contributed $230,000 to this fund. 

Flood of 1882 — In the early part of the. winter of 1881- 
82, the river was unusually high, due to frequent rains that 
had fallen throughout the valley, but no grave apprehensions 
then existed of an overflow. At the beginning of the year, 
however, a series of rains commenced falling, which continued, 
without cessation, throughout the month, particularly in the 
valleys of the Ohio, Tennessee, and around Yicksburg. The 
smaller tributaries, the Clinch and others, in East Tennessee, 
overflowed their banks about the middle of January, and caused 
heavy damages to the farmers; the Cumberland rose rapidly 
at Nashville, flooding a large jiortion of the town on January 
14, and causing much loss, particularly to the lumber interests, 
and much suffering among the poorer people of the city, 1,000 
of whom living near the river were driven from their homes. 
Floods occurred also at Kosciusko, Miss., overflowing the Chi- 
cago, Saint Louis, and New Orleans railroad at Aberdeen, 
and at various other points. The Ohio also began to boom 
about this time, flooding the lowlands between Cairo and 
Evansville, and drowning considerable quantities of stock. 
The rains continued to fall and the rivers to rise. On the 18th 
the Big Black was out of its banks, and communication be- 
tween Memphis and the outside world was nearly severed by 
the freshets occurrino: in all the neiijhborino: streams. The 
Atchafalaya overflowed its banks, causing a susi)ension of work 
on the New Orleans Pacific, and at Grenada and Durant, Miss., 
and on the Tombigbee and AVarrior Rivers, in Alabama, seri- 
>ous floods were reported. 

SUFFERING THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE VALLEY. 

The situation now began to look threatening. Heavy rains 
were falling every day, and the river rising. A thorough in-, 
spection was made of the levees, and much work done on 



262 Gould's history of river navigation. 

them. But the rain softened and washed away the dirt, Od 
January 28, a break occurred in the levee at Delta, Madison 
Parish, and another at Tropical Bend, in Plaquemines Parish, 
below the city ; on the 30th another break occurred at Lock- 
port, on Bayou La Fourche. On February 2 Red Piver rose, 
flooding the bottom lands below Shreveport. On February i> 
the levees in the Yazoo valley broke. From that time for- 
ward crevasses occurred daily. 

On February 13, the Kempe levee, in Tensas Parish, broke. 
By the middle of February all the bottom lands in Mississippi, 
Arkansas, and much of northern Louisiana were under water. 

On the 20th all the upper rivers, the Ohio, Missouri and 
Mississippi suddenly rose, with a " boom " beyond all prece- 
dent. The lower portions of Cincinnati and Louisville were 
flooded ; Saint Louis was cut off from railroad communication 
with the rest of the world, and hardly a town on the jNIissis- 
sippi or Ohio escaped without some damage from the flood. 
The situation grew worse every day, and only a few points on 
the river between Vicksburg and Cairo were left above water. 
On March 1 occurred a violent storm, which caused a number 
of breaks in the Mississippi levees, inundating Bolivar, Issa- 
quena, Sharkey, Leflore, and Washington Counties. At that 
date there were fifteen crevasses in Louisiana on the Missis- 
sippi, Atchafalaya, and La Fourche. Great destitution existed 
throughout the overflowed region, and appeals were made to 
the Government for aid from Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, 
Arkansas and Louisiana, and Mississippi. The number of 
sufferers bj" the flood was then estimated at 43,000. On March 
8, the Point Coupee levee was broken, and the scene of de- 
struction was changed to Central Louisiana. Through these 
new breaks the water poured down the Atchafalaya and be- 
gan overflowing the Attakapas district of Louisiana, and ruin- 
ing the finest sugar plantations of the State. 

The water on the land overflowed by the Mississi})pi began 
to run off during the last two week of March, but in lower 
Louisiana the flood rose and continued through the greater 
portion of April. Even when this rise stopi^ed, the tlood did 
not entirely subside. It was not until late in June that some 
of the plantations were free from overflow. The flood may, 
therefore, be considered to have lasted fully five months. 
Over a hundred breaks or crevasses were caused by it, and 
22,000 square miles, with a population of over 400,000, were 
overflowed. 

Early during the overflow the Government had established 
relief bureaus in the various inundated States, and several 
hundred thousand dollars were distributed in rations. This 



TWENTY-SIX PARISHES OVERFLOWED IN LOUISIANA. 263 



was supplemented by the State of Louisiana, which organized 
a relief commission and sent a fleet to upper Louisiana to re- 
move the people in danger of overflow to safe land, and to 
furnish forage to the stock which was being destroyed in thou- 
sands. This fleet rescued many people from starvation and 



drowning. 



LOSSES FROM OVERFLOW. 



An attempt was made to find accurately the losses from the 
flood in 1882. The poHce juries of Louisiana were requested 
by the governor to prepare reports on this subject, showing 
the land overflowed on the amount of damao;e done. For Mis- 
sissippi and Arkansas estimates were made. 

In Louisiana, 26 out of 58 parishes were overflowed either 
wholly or in part. The parishes suffering most were More- 
house, Ouachita, Caldwell, Richland, West Carroll, East Car- 
roll, Madison, Tensas, Franklin, Catahoula, Concordia, Avo- 
yelles, Rapides, Saint Landry, Pointe Coupee, West Baton 
Rouge, Saint Martin, Iberia, Iberville, Assumption, Saint 
Mary, Terre Bonne, La Fourche, Ascension, Saint Bernard 
and East Baton Rouge. 

In Mississippi, the counties suffering most were Tunica, 
Coahoma, Panola, Tallahatchie, Bolivar, Washington, Sun- 
flower, Leflore, Yazoo, Issaquena, Warren, Claiborne, and 
Adams. 

In Arkansas, Mississippi, Poinsett, Cross, Crittenden, Saint 
Francis, Woodruff, Monroe, Phillips, Arkansas, Desha, Chi- 
cot, Drew, Ashley and Bradley counties suffered. 

The following estimates were made of the actual damage in- 
flicted by the overflow : 

LOSSES IN LOUISIANA. 



Crop. 


Average 
Crop. 


Loss. 


ACREAGE. 


Per Cent. 
OF Loss. 


Value. 


Cotton bales. . 

Corn bushels. . 

Sugar hogsheads.. 

Molasses gallons . . 


171,750 

2,800,000 

73,300 

4,984,000 


42,280 

560,000 

65,970 

4,285,000 


229,000 

140,000 

77,000 


32 

20 

1 »i 


$2,114,000 

504,000 

6,286,000 

2,142,000 


52,000 


362,000 












Total 


$11,408,000 















Add to the total above $11,408,000 

Damage to — 

Stock 

Fences, etc , 

Houses and household goods 

Levees 

Railroads 



1,090,000 
530,000 
685,000 
561,000 
730,000 



Total loss In Louisiana $15,004,000 



2o4 Gould's history of river navigation. 



FLOOD OF 1884. 

The only important crevasse of 1884, but a very serious 
one, was that at the Davis phmtation, 22 miles above New 
Orleans, one of the largest and most destructive known. A 
rice flume cut in the old levee had been imperfectly refilled 
and the great rush of the river washed out the loose earth, and 
soon cut a gap 1,000 feet wide. Through this immense open- 
ing the sjiare water of the mighty river forced its way, form- 
ing a converging stream that ran several miles inland, and 
pounding out deep gullies and holes here and there along its 
destructive course. 

The raih'oad tracks of the Texas and Pacific and of the 
Morgan lines soon became submerged and all traffic stopped. 
The two railroad companies, in conjunction, undertook to close 
this tremendous crevasse, but the driftwood and debris of the 
river, together with the powerful current that was setting in 
against the work, so impeded, blocked and prevented any 
available efforts that they were finally compelled to abandon 
the undertaking. The great gap then grew apace, the water 
spread out a vast sheet of demolition over the surrounding 
country, overflownng adjoining parishes, poured into ti)e town 
of Gretna, submerging the streets, driving families from their 
homes, causing widespread misery, destruction and suffering. 
The water poured down on the richest sugar district in the 
State, causing destruction on the west bank of the river almost 
to the Gulf, and entailing a loss of over $5,000,000. 



high-water floods. 
What May be Expected Every Ten Years. 

The following is the Mississippi River Commission's calcu- 
lations of floods: — 

" At Cairo, between 1862 and 1883, inclusive, four floods 
have reached or exceeded a reading on the gauge of 50.8 feet, 
the highest known reading being 52.4 feet, in 1883. A flood 
of 51.5 feet may then be booked for once in ten years. 

At Memphis, between 1858 and 1883, inclusive, the gauge 
reading has equaled or CxXceeded 34 feet six times, the highest 
reading being 35.1 feet in 1882. A flood of 34.5 feet may be 
expected once in ten 3'ears. 

At Helena, between 18()8 and 1883, inclusive, floods have 
four times equaled or exceeded a gauge-reading of 45.8 feet, 



GAUGE READINGS AT DIIFEREKT POINTS. 265 

the maximum beinsi: 47.2 feet, iu 1882. A flood of 46.5 feet 
may be expected once in ten years. 

At the mouth of White River, between 18G2 and 1883, in- 
clusive, the floods have five times fjiven a gauge-reading of 
46.1) feet or more, the highest being 48.5 feet, in 1882. A 
flood of 47.5 feet may be expected once in ten years. 

At Vicksburg, between 1858 and 1883, inclusive, floods 
have four times given gauge-readings of 48.8 feet or more, 
the highest being 51.1 feet, in 1862. In 1882 the flood only 
reach<d 48.8 feet, the maxinmm since 1867, and may have had 
its height diminished by the Vicksburg cut-off of 1876. A 
flood of 49 feet may be expected once in ten years. 

At Natchez, between 1858 and 1883, floods reached a gauge- 
readinjr of 47.9 feet or more five times, the maximum being 
50.3 feet, in 1862. A flood of 48 feet may be expected once 
in ten years. 

At Red River Landing, between 1867 and 1883, the gauge 
has in three years had a flood reading of 46.3 feet or more, 
the maximum being 48.6 feet, in 1882. A flood of 47 feet 
may be expected once in ten years. 

At Carrollton floods have reached a orauge-reading of 15.4 
or more five times between 1859 and 1883, the hijjhest being 
15.9 feet in 1862. A flood of 16.6 feet may be expected once 
in ten years. 

These statements refer to the river as it has been since 1858. 

COST OF HIGH WATER. 

The total losses from overflow in the States south of Mem- 
phis since 1866 is estimated at $71,827,000, the worst years 
being 1867, 1874, 1882 and 1884. 

The account of the Lower Mississippi Valley with the river 
since the war will stand as follows: — 

To the building aud maintenance of levees .$25,704,482 94 

To crevasse and losses from flood 71,827,600 00 

Total cost of high water in twenty-oue years $97,532,082 94 " 

The great flood in the Mississippi in 1881 comnieuced 
early in May at St. Louis, and on the 4th the water had 
reached nearly to the curb-stone on the levee. Great appre- 
hension was felt for East St. Louis, and the inhabitants liv- 
ing in the American Bottom, and only for the railroad embank- 
ments near and parallel with the river, was the town saved 
from entire inundation. As it was, great loss and inconven- 



266 Gould's histoky of river navigation. 

ience was realized by the citizeas as well as by all the inhabi- 
tants in the American Bottom." 

These losses must continue in all bottom lands every season 
of high water, until a more thorough system of leveeing is 
adopted. 

Experience has shown the practicability of this mode of 
protecting lands on the border of rivers. This, together with 
the revetting of caving banks, would in a few years reclaim all 
the bottom lands in the Valley of the Mississippi. 

HIGH WATER IN THE OHIO RIVER. 

[From Floyd's Steamboat Directory.] 

"In the year 1786, the Ohio River rose fifty-nine feet above 
low-water mark. As the surrounding country was but sparsely 
inhabited at that time, the damage done by this flood was 
comparatively trivial. In 1792, the Ohio rose sixty-three 
feet above low-water mark — four feet higher than the flood; 
of 1786. 

On the 11th of November, 1810, there was a great flood at 
Pittsburgh. A brig which had been built at Plumb Creek, 
near that city, and which was ready to be launched, was 
floated off her ways by this freshet, so that the common pro- 
cess of launching was unnecessary. Fortunately the vessel 
was secured and made fast, or she would probably have made 
a long voyage down the river without the usual equipments. 

July 14, 1828, there was an extraordinary rise in the Ohio 
Piver, supposed to be as great as that of 1792. It carried deso- 
lation into the lower part of Wheeling, which was covered to 
a depth of six feet. There was a vast amount of property de- 
stroyed along the river. 

In 1844 the houses at Cairo, at the confluence of the Ohio 
and Mississippi, were nearly submerged. The swollen rivers 
were fourteen miles wide between the opposite shores of Ken- 
tucky and Missouri. Movable property of every kind, fences, 
cattle, lumber, furniture, and entire houses, (wooden 
ones, of course), were floated down the Mississippi and other 
rivers. A building was sent driving down the Mississippi, 
while several persons from the windows were calling for assist- 
ance, which, on account of the torrent-like velocity of the 
stream, could not be afforded them. Many drowning people 
and dead bodies floated down the Mississippi. A house, with 
a whole family inside of it, went over the falls of Ohio. Boats 
passed over fields and plantations, far beyond the usual limits 
of the river, and took the frightened inhabitants fi'om the 
upper stories of their houses, to which they had been driven 



WATER TEN FEET DEEP IN NEW ORLEANS. 267 

for refuge from the waters. The levees or embankments made 
at different phices as defenses against the river, were broken 
through. Red River was higher in January this year than 
ever it was before within the recollection of man, and higher 
than it ever has been since. All the lands in the immediate 
neighborhood of that river were desolated, and every vestige 
of cultivation was destroyed. In June of this year, the Mis- 
sissippi at St. Louis was eleven miles wide, and was on the 
level with the second story windows of the houses on the levee 
at that city. Many houses were swept away and great num- 
bers of cattle were drowned. The loss of property was im- 
mense. An ol^elisk about twenty feet high has been erected 
on the levee below Market street, St. Louis, to designate the 
height of the water at the time of this flood. 

In March, 1849, the water was ten feet deep in some of the 
streets of New Orleans. This was the most destructive flood 
that ever visited that city. The plauttitions above were over- 
flowed, and the rush of the water over the fields, in some 
places, was perfectly irresistible, carrying away every thing 
which opposed the current, which was !)elievcd to move at the 
rate of sixty miles per hour. The damage sustained by plant- 
ers and others was estimated at $60,000,(X)0. 

In April, 1852, the Ohio, at Wheeling and Pittsburgh, rose 
as high as it did in 1832. There was a great destruction of 
property along the river, and many lives were lost." 

In December of 1847, there was another destructive flood 
in the Ohio. At Louisville the water was within thirty inches 
of its extreme height in 1883, which was the highest water 
ever known in that river. On the 15th of February, 1883, it 
reached 66 feet 4 inches at Cincinnati, 44 feet 5 inches at 
Louisville and 52 feet at Cairo. There was said to have been 
15,000 people in Cincinnati houseless and homeless. Far 
greater damage and loss of life occurred on the Ohio this 
year than ever before or since. Until this year, 1832 was al- 
ways referred to as the great high-water year on the Ohio, the 
water at Cincinnati then reached 64 feet 3 inches. While the 
Avater'at Pittsburgh was not so high as on some previous years, 
all the lower tributaries were higher from the incessant rains 
that prevailed. 

The loss in 1883 was estimated at ten million dollars at 
Cincinnati, Covington and Newport alone. Probably a larger 
amount was lost at other points in the aggregate. There was 
a large number of lives lost of which no record could of course 
be kept. As it was early in the season no losses were sustained 
in the crops, but as the banks and the bottom lands are 



■268 Gould's history of river navigation. 

much more settled than on the Mississippi, far greater losses 
occured in stock, houses, and movable property, although 
the previous year, 1882, the losses in levees and crops, in 
Louisiana alone, amounted to fifteen million dollars, from the 
overflow of that year. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

TRAGIC EVENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 
" MURREL " AND HIS GANG. 

SINCE the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, no 
country known to civilization has been the theater and the 
battle-field of more tragic events and blood-aurdlinof incidents 
than has been this beautiful Valley of the Mississippi. 

Succeeding the treachery and massacres from the Indians 
and the bloody battles that so often followed, encouraged by 
the French and English authorities, came the outlaiv, the 
pirate, the escaped convict and the desperate highwayman 
from all parts of the world. 

The sparsely settled country rendered arrest and conviction 
difiicult, if not impossible. The numerous water-courses con- 
tributed to the escape of all offenders, and to the rapid move- 
ment of such as harbored on their borders. The mountain 
fastnesses of the North, the boundless prairies of the West, 
and the impenetrable canebrakes of the South made this 
valley a veritable elysian field, for the successful operation of 
all outlaws. 

They appeared singly, and in all forms of organizations. 
Among the earlier ones was Mike Fink, Sam Grity and their 
associates. A class known as "boat-wreckers" in which 
*' Colonel Plug," figured prominently, on the lower Ohio, in 
command of a gang of pirates, previous to steamboat naviga- 
tion, whose headquarters were in or about the mouth of Cash 
Creek, just above Cairo, together with organized gangs on the 
Mississippi, Avhich became so destructive to the early com- 
merce of that river that the Spanish government at New Or- 
leans took official notice of them and organized means to 
suppress them. Later, and after the introduction of steam- 
boats, gangs of horse thieves, negro thieves, murderers and 
every class of desperadoes continued to infest the South, 



JESSE JAMES AND MURREL. 269' 

making the Mississippi and the bayous their general rendez- 
vous. Among the noted ones, even within the memory of 
many who still live, was one knowji as " Murrel's aano;." 

In the very popular work known as " Mark Twain's Life on 
the Mississippi," is this graphic description of the above 

" There is a tradition that Island 37 was one of the princi- 
pal abiding places of the once celebrated "Murrel's Gang." 
This was a colossal combination of robbers, horse thieves, 
negro stealers and counterfeiters, enffajjed in business along: 
the river, some tifty or sixty years ago. 

While our journey across the country to St. Louis was in 
progress we had no end to Jesse James and his stirring history, 
for he had just been assassinated by an agent of the govern- 
ment of Missouri, and in consequence was occupying a good 
deal of space in the newspapers. Cheap histories of him were 
for sale by the boys on the train. According to these, he was 
one of the most marvelous creatures of his kind that had ever 
existed. 

It was a mistake. Murrel was his equal in boldness, in 
pluck, in rapacity, in cruelty, in brutality, heartlessness, 
treachery and in general and comprehensive vileness and 
shamelessness. And very much his superior in some larger 
aspects. 

James was a retail rascal. Murrel wholesale. James' mod- 
est genius dreamed of no loftier flight than planning of raids 
upon cars, coaches, and country banks. Murrel projected 
negro insurrections and the capture of New Orleans, and fur- 
thermore, on occasion, this Murrel could go into the pulpit 
and edify the congregation. What are James and his half 
dozen vulgar rascals compared with this stately old-time crim- 
inal, with his sermons, his meditated insurrections and city 
captures and his majestic following of ten hundred men, sworn 
to do his evil will." 

There is a paragraph or two concerning this big operator 
from a now forgotten book, published half a century ago, as 
follows : — 

" He appears to have been a most dextrous as well as a 
consummate villain. When he traveled his disguise was that of 
an itinerant preacher, and it is said his discourses were very 
soul-stirring, interesting the hearers so much they forgot to 
look after their horses, which were carried away by his con- 
federates while he was preaching. But the stealing of horses 
iin one State and selling them in another was but a small por- 
Ition of their business. The most lucrative was stealing 



270 Gould's history of river navigation. 

slaves, to run awa}- from their masters that they might sell 
them in another quarter. This was arranged as tbllovvs: — 

They would tell a negro if he would run away from his 
master and allow them to sell him to another, he should secure 
a portion of the money paid for him, and that upon his re- 
turn to them a second time, they would send him to a free 
State where he would be safe. The poor wretches complied 
with this request, hoping to obtain money and freedom. The}^ 
would be sold to another master and runaway again to their em- 
plcvers. Sometimes they would be sold in this manner three 
or four times, until they had realized three or four thousand 
dollars by them. But after this, the fear of detection, the usual 
custom was to get rid of the only witness, that could be pro- 
duced against them, which was the negro himself, b}" murder- 
ing him and throwing his body into the Mississippi. Even 
if it w^as established that they had stolen a negro, before he 
was murdered, they were always prepared to evade punish- 
ment. For they concealed the negro that had runaway, until 
he was advertised, and a reward offered to any man who 
would catch him. 

An advertisement of this kind warrants the person to take 
the property, if found, and then the negro becomes their 
property, in trust. When, therefore, they sold the negro it only 
becomes a breach of trust, not stealing, and for a breach of 
trust the owner of the property can only have redress by civil 
action, which was useless, as the damages were never paid. 

HOW murkp:l escaped lynch law. 

It may be inquired how under these circumstances Murrel 
escaped Lynch Javj? This will be easily understood when it is 
stated that he had more than one thousand sioorn confederates^^ 
all ready at any moment's notice to support any of the gang 
that were in trouble. 

The names of all the principal confederates of Murrel were 
obtained in a manner which I shall presently explain. 

This gang was composed of two classes. The heads or 
council as they were called, who planned and concerted, but 
seldom acted. They amounted to about four hundred. The 
other class acted as agents and were termed strikers, and 
numbered about six hundred and fifty. These were the tools 
in the hands of the others. They run all the risk and received 
but a small portion of the money. 

They were in the power of the leaders of the gang who 
would sacrifice them at anytime, by handing them over to 
justice or sinking their bodies in the Mississippi. 

The oreneral rendezvous of this gang of miscreants w^as on 



mukkel's aruest and imprisonment. 271 

the Arkansas side of the river, where they concealed tiieir 
negroes in the morasses and cane brakes. The depredations of 
this extensive coml)ination were severely felt, but so well ar- 
ranged were their plans that although Murrel, who was always 
active, was every where suspected, there was no proof to be 
obtained. It so happened, however, that a youug man by the 
name of Stewart, who was looking after two slaves who Murrel 
had decoyed away, fell in with him and secured his confidence, 
took the oath, and was adnjitted into the gang as one of the 
General Council. By th(jse means al! was discovered, for 
Stewart turned traitor, although he had taken the oath, and 
having obtained every information, exposed the whole concern, 
the names of all the parties, and finally succeeded in bringing 
home sufficient evidence against Murrel to secure his convic- 
tion and sentence to the penitentiary. (Murrel was sentenced 
for fourteen years imprisonment. ) 

So many people who were supposed to be honest and bore 
a respectable name in different States were found to be 
among the list of the Grand Council as published by Stewart, 
that every attempt was made to throw discredit uj)on his as- 
sertions — his character was vilified, and more than one at- 
temj)t was made to assassinate him. 

He was obliged to quit the Southern States in consequence. 
It is however now well ascertained to have been all true, and 
although some blame Mr. Stewart for having violated his oath, 
they no longer attempt to deny that his revelations were cor- 
rect. I will quote one or two of Murrel's confessions to Mr. 
Stewart, made to him when they were journeying together, I 
ought to have observed that the ultimate intentions of Murrel 
was on a large scale, as stated by himself. Having no less an 
object than raising the blacks against the whites, taking posses- 
sion of New Orleans, })lundei'ing the city, and making them- 
selves possessors of the territory. The following are a few 
extracts: — 

DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THEIR OPERATIONS. 

*' I collected all my friends about New Orleans at one of our 
friend's houses at that place, and we sat in Council three days 
before we got all our plans to our notion. We then deter- 
mined to undertake the rebellion at all hazards, and make as 
many friends as we could for that purpose, every man's 
business being assigned to him. I started to Natchez on 
foot, having sold my horse in New Orleans, with the inten- 
tion of stealing another after I started. 1 walked four days 
with no opportunity for me to get a horse. The fifth day, 



272 Gould's history of river navigation. 

about noon, I had tired and stopped at a creek to get some- 
water and rest a little. While I was sitting on a log and look- 
ing down the road the way I had come, a man came in sio"ht 
riding a good looking horse. The moment I saw him I was. 
determined to have his horse if he was in the garb of a traveler. 
He rode up and I saw from his equipage that he was a traveler. 
I arose and drew an elegant ritie pistol on him, and ordered 
him to tlismount. He did so, and I took his horse by the 
bridle and pointed down the creek and ordered him to walk 
before me. 

He went a few hundred yards, and stopped. I hitched his 
horse and then made him undress himself, all to his shirt and 
drawers, and ordered him to turn his back to me. He said 
* If you are determined to kill me let me have time to pray 
before I die.' I told him I had no time to hear him pray. 
He turned around and drop})ed on his knees, and I shot him 
through the back of the head. I ripped opened his belly and 
took out his entrails, and sunk him in the creek. I then 
searched his pockets and found four hundred dollars and 
thirty-seven cents, and a number of papers that I did not take 
time to examine. I sunk all his clothing and effects in the 
creek. His boots were bran new, and fitted me genteellj', and 
1 put them on and sunk my old ones in the creek to atone for 
them. I mounted as fine a horse as I ever straddled, and di- 
rected m}^ course for Natchez in much better style than I had 
been for five days. Myself and a fellow by the name of 
Crenshaw gathered four good horses and started for Georgia. 
We got in company with a young fellow from South Carolina 
just before we got to Cumberland mountains and Crenshaw 
soon knew all about his business. He had been to Tennessee 
to buy a drove of hogs. But when he got there pork was 
dearer than he had calculated and he declined purchasing. 
We concluded he was a prize. 

Crenshaw winked at me. I understood his idea. He had 
traveled the road before, I never had. We had traveled 
several miles on the mountain road when Ave passed a great 
precipice. Just before passing it, Crenshaw asked me for my 
whip, which had a pound of lead in the butt. I handed it to 
him. He rode up along side of the Carolinain and gave him a 
blow on the side of the head which tumbled him from his 
horse. We lit from our horses and fingered his pockets. We 
got $1,262.00. 

Crenshaw said he knew a place to hide him. He gathered 
him under his arms and I by his feet, and conveyed him to a 
deep crevice under the precipice and tumbled him into it and! 



SELLING A NEGRO THREE TI3IES THEN KILLING HIM. 273 

he went out of sight. We then threw in his saddle, and took 
his horse with us, which was worth two hundred dollars. 

We were detained a few days and durinu: that time our 
friend went to a little village in the neighborhood and saw 
the negro advertised (a negro in our possession) and a descrip- 
tion of the two men of whom he had been purchased and 
giving his suspicion of the two men. 

It was rather squally times, but any port in a storm. We 
took the negro that night on the bank of a creek, vrhich runs 
by the farm of our friend, and Crenshaw shot him through the 
head. We took out his entrails, and sunk him in the creek. 
We had sold the other negro the third time, on the Arkansaw 
river for upwards of $500, and then stole him and delivered 
him into the hands of his friend and then conducted him to a 
swamp and veiled the tragic scene, and got the last gleanings 
and sacred pledge of secrecy, as a game of that kind will 
not do unless it ends in a mystery to all but the fraternity. 
We sold that negro first and last for $2,000, and then put him 
out of reach of all pursuers. They can never find that negro, 
for his carcass has fed many a cat-fish and the frogs sung 
many a day to the silent repose of his skeleton." 



MASON, THE CELEBRATED HIGHWAYMAN OF THE NATCHEZ TRACE. 

1802. His band was the terror of every trader. Traders in 
those days went down the river in flat-boats and sold their 
produce for dollars or doubloons which they packed on ponies 
and went through on foot in gang^^ of five or ten men to their 
homes in the West. Before leaving Natchez or New Orleans 
they supplied themselves with arms and ammunition to protect 
themselves against Mason and his gang, who infested this 
only great road, the Natchez trace at that time, and preyed up- 
on weak parties of boatmen passing that route. Governor 
Claiborn issued the following order for the capture of Mason 
and his gang. I have information that a set of pirates and 
robbers who infest the river and the road have their rendez- 
vous in the cane-brakes near Walnut Hills. They recently at- 
tempted to board the boat of Col. Joshua Baker between the 
mouth of the Yazoo and the Walnut Hills, but were deterred 
by his show of arms and preparation for defense. The men 
must be arrested. The crimes of Mason are many and atro- 
cious. 

18 



274 Gould's history of river navigation, 

the governor offered a reward of $2,000 for their 
capture mason killed by his men. 

Shortly after this Mason had a quarrel with two of his 
men, and on this occasion, when only the chief and these 
two men were in camp and he was asleep, they shot him, cut 
off his head, and set out with it to claim the reward. The 
Circuit Court was in session in the old town of Greenville, 
Jefferson county, when they arrived. They went before 
the judge to make their affidavit and get a certificate to the 
Governor. The head was identified by parties who knew 
Mason well, but just as he was in the act of making out a cer- 
tificate, a traveler stepped into the Court house and requested 
to have the two men arrested. He recognized the horses they 
rode as belonging to parties who had robbed him and killed 
one of his companions some two months previously on the 
Natchez trace; and going into the Courthouse he identified 
the two men. They were tried and executed at Greenville. 
With the death of their chief and the departure of Harp, one of 
his captains, the gang dispersed and for many years tljere were 
no more highway robbers or river pirates in the Territory of 
Mississippi. 

When General Wilkinson was negotiating a treaty with the 
Choctaws at Fort Adams, 1801, after having permission to 
have a road opened to the Chickasaw line where it would in- 
tersect the road leading by Colbert's ferry on the Tennessee 
River to Nashville, he proposed that a certain number of white 
families be allowed to settle there to keep entertainment for 
travelers. This the Indians refused, but as soon as the road 
known as the old Natchez trace was opened La Fleurs and 
other half-cast families moved to it and made lots of money 
keeping entertainment for travelers. — Claiborne's History of\ 
New Orleans. 



275 



CHAPTER XLin. 

TRAGIC EVENTS ON KENTUCKY AND OHIO, — DANIEL BOONE AND 

SIMON KENTON. 

AMONG the noted men that came to the front during the 
early settlement of the Mississippi Valley, they were not 
all freebooters, pirates or desperadoes. 

While General Harmer, General St. Clair, General Wayne 
and other officers of the government in charge of troops were 
fighting the British and Indians on the north side of the Ohio, 
in defense of the new settlements in the neighborhood of 
Marietta, Chillicothe, Fort Washington (now Cincinnati), 
and on the Miamas, Daniel Boone with a few adventurous 
spirits from North Carolina and the east side of the Alleghany 
Mountains, were fighting their way through Virginia and 
across into what proved to most of them to be the " dark and 
bloody ground " — Kentucky, then the home of hostile 
Indians and every variety of wild beasts. But to men like 
Boone, Harrod, Kenton, Logan, Ray — McAffee and others 
no barrier was sufficient to intimidate them or danger to pre- 
vent their westward march. 

The woods were full of bear, panther, deer, the "open- 
ings," of buffalo, and the lakes and water-courses of fish, 
ducks and geese. 

To men who had been raised on the frontier these attrac- 
tions could not be resisted, though an Indian was found 
lurking in ambush in every hiding place. 

Every reader acquainted with the history and settlement of 
Kentucky, knows how dearly it was purchased, and the blood 
that was shed to secure its possession. To no one man is so 
much due, perhaps as to Daniel Boone, although others 
sacrificed much, and many, very many, sacrificed all they 
possessed and their lives included. He was born in 1746, in 
Bucks County, Penn., near Bristol on the Delaware. At the 
age of 13 he immigrated with his father to North Carolina, 
who settled in the valley of South Bodkin. 

After remaining there a few years he married, and removed 
further into the wilderness, where the game was more abun- 
dant. That having been his occupation and the only employ- 
ment he ever fancied. While his opportunities for an 
education were not good, he never embraced even such as 
ofi'ered, but preferred employing all his leisure time, whea 



276 Gould's history of river navigation. 

he could be spared from the farm in which his father and 
brother was engaged, to devote to his favorite pursuit — hunt- 
ing. In this lie excelled even when but a hid. His rifle was his 
constant companion, and his home in the woods and a dog 
all the company he desired. 

BOONE's first trip to KENTUCKY. 

After his marriage he settled on a place of his own and em- 
barked in agricultural pursuits for a few years. But his ad- 
venturous spirit and love of solitude soon induced him to 
abandon his home, family and farm. 

In 1769, he, in company with a kindred spirit, by the name 
of Finley, who had made one trip across the mountains from 
jS^orth Carolina to Kentucky, and who had inspired Boone 
with his thrilling hair-breadth escapes and wonderful accounts 
of game and adventures, in company with four others, whose 
names were SteAvart, Holden, Mooney and Cool, all pledged 
to stand by each other in all emergencies, started for Kentucky 
leaving their families until they should " spy out the land,'* 
make a location and return for them. 

Their route lay through trackless wilderness. The slender 
supply of food Avas soon exhausted, and a camp for the pur- 
pose of hunting was made and as game was abundant, no 
difiiculty was experienced in securing a supply of deer and 
turkey which w'as prepared for future use. 

Their custom was for two of the party to watch while the 
others slept, and so they alternated through the nights, by 
short watches. 

They soon reached the foot and began the ascent of the- 
Alleghanies. 

Several days were spent in reaching the summit of the Cum- 
berland iSlountains, the most Western span of these heights. 
From this point the descent into the great Western vallej^ began. 

The grand view that lay spread out before them inspired 
them to press forward into the beautiful valleys of the Ohio 
and its tributaries, with renewed vigor, knowing from Fin- 
ley's account they were soon to be among vast herds ot 
buffalo, elk, and other wild game. While Boone had followed 
the occupation of a hunter for many years, he had never 
before been within the " buffalo range," and his anxiety to 
reach that long-looked for field may be imagined. 

The first large drove came in sight the day the travelers 
reached the foot of the mountains. The buffalo emerged from 
a skirt of woods and the plain was soon covered with an im- 
mense moving mass of these huge animals. They were mov- 
ing right in the direction of the travelers, who had not beea 



BOONE'S first encounter with BUFFALO. 277 

observed. Finley knowing something of their habits cried out 
to the excited party, " They will not turn out for us and if we 
don't look sharp we will be crushed." The party came to a 
stand within rilie distance, when Finley shot the file leader. 
The patriarch of the herd fell, which momentarily checked 
the moving mass. But borne along by the pressure of the 
multitudes in the rear those in front separated at the point the 
leader had fallen. The opening once made the chasm broad- 
ened and passed the travelers on either side at a distance of 
some thirty yards. To prevent the rear from closing in on 
them, they killed another, which falling in the track, secured 
their safety until all had passed, leaving Boone and the other 
members of the party who had just witnessed their first 
buffalo exhibition in wonder and amazement. After this, 
buffalo were often seen like herds of domestic cattle, and were 
so easily captured they were passed without attracting special 
attention, unless their stock of provisions needed replenishing 
or their skins were necessary for protection. Once across the 
mountains they were in the beautiful valleys on the head 
waters of the streams emptying into the Ohio, and by follow- 
ing the paths of the buffalo, deer, bear and other animals, they 
discovered the sabines or licks from which the salt was ob- 
tained, used by the settlers for many succeeding generations. 

Thus surrounded, Boone and his comioanions had reached 
what seemed to be the " promised land." The few Indians 
they met were disposed to be friendly, and they engaged in 
their favorite occupation of hunting, trapping, etc., with great 
success for several months, and accumulated a large quantity 
of skins and furs. But the day of their trials was not long 
deferred, and what was to this small party of pioneers an 
el;/ Stan field at first, soon became the" Valley of Himnom, 
the shadow of death." After numerous hardships and hair- 
breadth escapes such as would have deterred any less bold and 
adventurous spirit, Boone returned to North Carolina for 
his family. 

From his representations and persuasive argument, after 
near two years effort, he succeeded in organizing a small party 
of emigrants, consisting of some eighty persons, men, women 
and children, and on the 26th of September, 1773, started 
across the mountains for the new El Dorado, Kain-tuck-kee. 

For a detailed account of this perilous journey and of the 
subsequent trials and adventures of this wonderful man and 
not much less wonderful wife, see " Flint's Life of Daniel 
Boone," published in Cincinnati, in 1858. 

In the same work may be found an interesting history of 



278 Gould's history of river navigation. 

another remarkable man who was cotemporary with Boone 
and ought to be reckoned among the patriarchs of Kentucky. 

DANIEL BOONE AND SIMON KENTON. 

This was Simon Kenton, alias Butler. He was born in 
Virginia, in 1753. He grew to manhood without learning to 
read or write. 

It is recorded of him at the age of nineteen he had a violent 
contest with a competitor for the favor of a hidy's hand. 
She refused to make an election, and he, in disgust exiled 
himself from his native home and located in Kentucky, where 
he soon became a noted partisan against the Indians. 

In 1774 he joined himself to Lord Dunsmore and was ap- 
pointed one of the spies, where he performed important serv- 
ice in this employment. Subsequently he joined Colonel 
Clark, in his gallant expedition against Vincennes and Kas- 
kaskia. He passed through the streets of the former place 
while in possession of the British Indians without discovery. 
After performing many daring feats in this expedition, he was 
employed to make a journe}' to Northern Ohio. He was then 
captured by the Indians who painted him black, as was their 
custom with those they intended to torture, and informed 
him he was to be burned at Chillicothe. In the meantime, 
for their amusement and as a prelude to his torture, they 
manacled him hand and foot, and placed him on an unbridled 
horse and turned the animal loose. After running throuo-h 
the woods and brush in its fright without being able to shake 
him off, the horse returned to the camp exhausted and worn 
down, to the great amusement and shouts of the Indians for 
the sufferins: and wounds that Butler had endured. Arriving 
■svithin a mile of Chillicothe, they took him from his horse, 
tied him to a stake, where he remained 24 hours in one posi- 
tion. He was then taken from the stake to " run the gaunt- 
let." This is the Indian mode for inflicting this torture. 

The inhabitants of the tribe, old and young, are placed in 
parallel lines, armed w^ith clubs and switches. The victim is 
made to make his way to the convict house through these lines, 
every one endeavoring to strike him as hard a blow as possible 
as he passes. If Butler reached the convict house alive he 
was to be spared. In these lines were near 600 Indians, and 
the distance was near a mile. He was started with a blow, 
but soon broke through the lines, and was near the goal when 
a stout buck Indian knocked him down with a club. After 
beating him severely he was taken back again into custody and 
marched through village after village to give all a chance ta 
see his sufferings. He made several unsuccessful attempts to 



KENTON CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS. 279 

escape and run the gauntlet thirteen times. It was finally 
determined to burn him at Lower Sandusky, and but for a re- 
markable coincident that occurred while on his way to the 
stake, he would have been burned as proposed. 

A notorious renegade by the name of Girty, who had united 
with the Indians and was a moving spirit among them in all 
their cruelties and massacres of helpless whites, was then 
located at or near Lower Sandusky, which was a favorite resort 
with all Indians. After attacking Butler with the intention of 
killing him, Butler recognized him as an old acquaintance of 
his youth and managed to make himself known. Girty at 
once released him, and prevailed upon the Indians to forego 
the great pleasure they anticipated in burning him for the 
present. After five days they relented, and determined to 
carry out their cruel torture, in spite of all Girty could do. 

By a fortunate coincident he met the Indian agent at San- 
dusky, from Detroit, who from motives of humanity exerted 
suflicient influence with the Indians to secure his release, and 
took him to Detroit, where he was paroled by the Governor. 
He escaped, and being endowed, like Daniel Boone, to be at 
home in the woods, by a march of thirty days through the 
wilderness he reached Kentucky, where he continued to devote 
his indomitable energies to the interest of all in the new settle- 
ments. 

But it is not the object of this work to dwell at much length 
on subjects connected with the early settlements of the valley, 
Avhich is not lacking competent historians. All who desire 
may find reliable and interesting authorities in every public 
library. 

It is a subject of great regret, however, that so little has been 
recorded of that which relates to the early history of naviga- 
tion of the great water-courses in the Valley, as it has been sa 
intimately connected with the settlement of the country. 



280 Gould's history of river navigation. 

CHAPTEE XLiy. 

EARLY NAVIGATION OF THE ARKANSAS. 

^' 'TpHE first steamboat that ever ascended the Arkansas was 
J- the little old Buzzard, a worn-out rickety old craft that 
had lost all favor with every insurance company from Pitts- 
burgh to New Orleans. Her machinery had been sunk in one 
boat, blown up in another, and pronounced unsafe and worth- 
less by authorized inspectors, and instead of proceeding as it 
should have done, towards a junk shop to be sold for old iron. 

In face of all these disadvantages, the captain had. the au- 
dacity to stick hand-bills on the corners and other conspicuous 
places, announcing that the new, staunch, fast-sailing Buzzard, 
having splendid accommodations for passengers, etc., would 
leave for Little Rock, Van Buren and Fort Smith. 

The owner of the Buzzard who had no other home was what 
might be termed an easy, shiftless, no account sort of a chap, 
fond of sleeping half the time and playing the fiddle the bal- 
ance of the time. 

The captain of the Buzzard was a different character, a 
wild, harum-scarum rough s})ecies of early rivermen. The 
owner was completely under his thumb, he had beaten him time 
and again for interfering in the management of the boat. 
Such was the captain, pilot, engineer; much of the same 
stripe, ever willing to fight, drink, deal faro, play poker or 
any other game. 

One day the Buzzard entered the lower end of a long reach. 
The engineer now set his engine and proceeded to the cabin, 
took a smile of whisky and commenced to deal faro. The 
pilot lashed his wheel amidships, lit his pipe and proceeded to 
the cabin to bet against the engineer and captain. 

The owner of the boat was seated aft in the cabin consoling 
himself with a plaintive air on the fiddle, he was great on 
Virginia hoe-downs. 

The Buzzard, left to her own guidance, was going ahead 
finely on her own account when she entered a chute, took 
a sudden plunge into the bank with uncommon velocity, 
crushed in her bow, and knocked a hole in her as large as a 
hogshead. 

"She's sinking," shouted an Arkansas man, "tomahawk 
me if she ain't, sinking shure." The owner heard it but fiddled 
away with as little concern as Nero did at the burning of Rome. 



A FIDDLING STEAMBOAT CAPTAIN. 281 

" Three feet water in the hold," shouted the captain, "run 
the d d old Buzzard ashore, if you can." 

The owner heard these startling words, but continued to 
fiddle away. A passenger ran to him and bawled out, — 
*' Did you know the boat was snagged." 

" I suspected something of the kind," coolly answered the 
owner, as he laid his hand upon the violin. 

" She'll be lost in five minutes " shouted the passenger. 

" She's been a losing concern for five years," responded the 
owner, and went on playing his fiddle. 

" I wish she would settle with me for what I have lost by her 

before she goes down, and be d d to her," was the only 

answer from the owner as he moved the bow on his fiddle. 

" But why don't you speak 1o the captain, give him some 
orders what to do in the emergency," said the passenger. 

" Interfering with the officers of this boat is a very delicate 
matter," meekly remarked the owner. The boat careened, the 
next moment the cabin was half full of water. The Buzzard 
was a total loss. 

The owner swam ashore with his fiddle under his arm, his 
bow in his mouth." 

[From the Missouri Republican, August, 1822.] 

*' The distance from the mouth of the Arkansas Eiver to 
Little Kock, the seat of government of the State, says the 
National Intelh'ge7ice7',\s computed at three hundred miles and 
the distance thence to the Cherokee Missionary establishment 
on the Arkansas at 130 miles. 

Recently a steamboat, the Eagle, ascended the river the 
whole distance from the Mississippi River to within tw^elve 
miles of the Missionary establishment. 

What a country is this where there are rivers navigable for 
hundreds of miles which we are just beginning to hear of. 
Surely the Arkansas is just becoming known abroad. If one 
steamboat trip to within twelve miles of the Cherokee Mis- 
sionary establishment at Dwight, creates so much surprise 
among our Eastern brethren, how much more will they stare 
when they are told the steamboat Robert Thompson has 
actually made three passages this season to Fort Smith, about 
one hundred and twenty-five miles above Dwight, and upwards 
of five hundred miles from the Mississippi, and their astonish- 
ment will be considerably heightened undoubtedly, when we 
assert (and we do it from creditable authority) that she might 
Jiave gone five hundred miles further without difficulty. 



282 Gould's history of river navigation. 



STEAMBOAT AT THE MISSIONARY STATION. 

The sight of a steamboat gliding majestically through the 
waters of the Arkansas, in the very heart of the Osage nation, 
will be hailed with wonder and surprise by the aborigines of our 
country. And yet, however incredible it may appear to some, 
we have no doubt but that the time is not far distant when 
this sight will become familiar to them. 

It is but little more than two years since we witnessed the 
sight of the tirst steamboat at the town of Arkansas, and not 
yet four months since we announced the arrival of the first 
steanjboat that ever ascended the Arkansas to this place. But 
that which was a novelty to many of our citizens, a few 
months ago, has become familiar to them. They have al- 
ready witnessed four passages made a great distance into 
the interior of our country by steamboats, and in future will 
look for their return with the same regularity that they look 
for the return of the seasons." — Gazette^ Little Rock. 



CHAPTEE XLY. 

FIRST STEAMBOAT TO ASCEND THE ALLEGHANY. 

THE subjoined interesting account is from *' An Old Boat- 
man " who made the trip from Pittsburgh in 1830: — 

It was several years after the introduction of steamboats on 
to the Ohio and other Western rivers before the commerce on 
the Alleghany warranted a great effort to navigate it with 
steam. 

The current is strong and the water usually shallow and 
none but boats or light draft and large power are competent to 
navigate it successfully. Until the discovery of oil, there was 
but little for boats to do. The principal product on that 
stream for export was pine luniber. That was floated down 
on the spring floods and the lumber men's supplies was about 
all there was to transport for many years. After the opening 
of the oil wells an immense business was done on the river 
until the completion of some of the railroads, when it be- 
gan rapidly to fall off, and was soon almost entirely monopo- 
lized by them, as are all water routes similarly situated. 

An old boatman speaks of being on board the first regular 
stern-wheel boat, built at Pittsburgh in 1830, called the Alle- 



EARLY NAVIGATION OF THE ALLEGHANY. 283 

ghany. This boat was 90 feet long and 1(S feet wide. She 
was worked by a double enirine, two stern wheels extending 
12 feet behind the boat. On May 14th she left Pittsburgh, 
stemming the current at the rate of four miles an hour. The 
first trouble she encountered was at Patterson Falls, 115 miles 
up the river. This is one of the worst rapids upon the river. 
Here a very useful improvement aided the engine, a poling 
machine, worked by the capstan or windlass in the bow 
of the boat, which drew her over with ease. Montgomery's 
Falls, five miles above, is nearly as bad. 

We arrived at Warren, nearly two hundred miles above Pitts- 
burgh on the 19th. It requires from 18 to 25 daj's for canoes 
and keel-boats manned in the best manner to perform this 
trip. On May 19th she departed from AVarren for Olcan, in 
the State of New York. Next day she arrived opposite the 
Indian village of Cornplanter. A deputation of gentlemen 
waited upon this ancient Indian king or chief and invited him 
on board this new, and to him, wonderful visitor, a steamboat. 

The venerable old chief was a lad in the first French war of 
1744 and was then nearly one hundred years old. We found 
many raj)ids and generally very strong water. On May 21st 
we landed at Olean Point, nearly four hundred miles from 
Pittsburgh. 

The boat left Warren on the 23d and landed at Pittsburgh 
on the 24th. The time employed in running during the trip 
was seven days (running by day-light only). 

FIRST MAIL ROUTE OVER THE ALLEGHANIES. 

[Items, Niles' Register, vol. 14, 1818.] 

"The Great Western mail and stages," says a Brownsville 
paper of August 10, 1818, "from Washington City to 
Wheeling, on the National Turnpike, arrived at Brownsville 
for the first time, on Wednesday last. It will pass three times 
a week. 

A regular line of stages is also established by which passen- 
gers will be enabled to reach either extreme — a distance of 
270 miles — in five days, in the following manner : — 

From Washington to Hagerstown 70 miles* 

From Hagerstown to Pratts 20 " 

From Pratt's to Big Crossing 20 " 

From Big Crossing to Nichols, 12 miles beyond Brownsville 48 " 

From Nichols to Wheeling 44 ** 

The promptitude with which this contract was undertaken 
leaves no doubt that this mail route will open facilities for 



284 Gould's history of river navigation. 

oommunioation, and these stages will unite pleasure with 
safety and expedition far superior to any other in this Western 
country." 

STAGE TRAVELING ON THE NATIONAL ROAD. 

The above sketch will awaken earh^ recollections and stirring 
experiences in the minds of many old travelers, who u^^ed an- 
nually, and sometimes much oftener, to cross the Alleghanies 
on business or pleasure, by the world renowned " National 
Road." From this incipient opening in 1818, by the intro- 
duction of a single line of stages to run three times a week, 
carrying the mail, there are thousands of persons j'^et living 
who well remember the time when they crossed this same 
*' National turnpike," with a caravan of from five to fifteen 
stage coaches in a line, filled with passengers and drawn by 
four and six horses each. And they will not forget the ex- 
citement often caused by the break-neck speed in going 
down the mountain slope, especially in winter, when the nar- 
row tracks were covered with ice, and the only safety was by 
putting the horses upon a run to prevent the coach from slid- 
ing off the track and down the mountain side. And even that 
precaution did not always insure safety. Still that route was 
so great an improvement over all others then available, that it 
became very popular and was the principal route traveled be- 
tween the East and the Great West for twenty years. 

The opening of the Pennsylvania Canal was the first 
successful competitor for this old stage route. But while 
the canal route was much easier, and shorter, and aflbrded 
many beautiful landscape and birds-eye views, the time re- 
quired was much longer, and by business men was generally 
avoided for the same reason that steamboats at the present 
day are avoided. 

But the canal was the favorite route for families, and thou- 
sands still live who remember among the most pleasant remin- 
iscences of their lives, their experience in canal boat 
traveling. And some of the most cherished acquaintances 
ever formed was during these long canal-boat voyages. 

items from NILES' REGISTER, VOL. XVII. 

Steam — A London paper of July 17th, 1819, says: << The 
Americans have api)lied the pc^wer of steam to supersede that 
of horses in propelling stage coaches. 

In the State of Kentucky a stage coach is now established 
with a st^am engine, which travels at the rate of twelve miles 
the hour. It can be stopped instantly, and again set in mo- 
tion with its former velocity, and is so constructed that the 



STEAMER WALK IN THE WATER. 285 

passengers sit within two feet of the ground. The velocity 
depends upon the size of the wheel." 

There is a steamboat in America of 2,200 tons burden. The 
engine is of 1,000 horse power. It is called " The Fulton the 
First." 

" The Erie Steamboat," from Buffalo, arrived on her first 
trip to Detroit, 27 August, 1818. 

The Detroit Gazette observes : " Nothing could exceed the 
surprise of the sons of the forests on seeing the Walk in the 
Water moving majestically and rapidly against a strong cur- 
rent without the assistance of sails or oars. They lined the 
banks above Waldon and expressed their surprise by repeated 
shouts Tar-Tok-Nichee. ^ 

A report had been circulated among them that a big canoe 
would soon come among them from " noisy waters, " which by 
the order of the great Father of the Che-mo-komans would be 
drawn through the great lakes and rivers by sturgeon. Of 
the truth of the report thev are now perfectly satisfied." — 
Niks lierjit<ter. Vol. XVI. 1818. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

THE PURCHASE AND SETTLEMENT OF LOUISIANA. 

I. HISTORICAL NOTES. 
[From Internal Commerce of United States.] 

TN the early days of European discoveries and rivalries in the 
-•■ Mississippi Valley its comprehensive river system played 
a prominent part on the stage of public affairs. The discov- 
ery of the river, in 1541, by DeSoto and his Spanish troops 
was about a century later followed by explorations by the 
French under the lead of Marquette, Joliet, La Salle, and 
others, who entered the valley from the north. La Salle, 
during the years 1<379-1G83, explored the river throughout its 
whole length, took possession of the great valley in the name 
of France, and called it Louisiana in honor of his king, Louis 
XIV. Then resulted grand schemes for developing the re- 
sources of the valley, which a French writer characterized as 
"the regions watered by the Mississippi, immense unknown 
virgin solitudes which the imao-ination filled with riches." 
One Crozat, in 1712, secured from the king a charter giving 
him almost imperial control of the commerce of the whole 
Mississippi Valley. There was at that date no European rival 



286 Gould's history of river navigation. 

to dispute French domination, for the English of New En- 
ghmd and the other Atlantic colonies had not extended their 
settlements westward across the Alleghanies, and the Spanish 
inhabitants of New Spain or jNIexico had not pushed their 
conquest farther north than New Mexico. Crozat's trading 
privileges covered an era many times larger than all France, 
and as fertile as any on the face of the earth. But he was 
unequal to the opportunity, and, failing in his efforts, soon 
surrendered the charter. 

John Law, a Scotchman, at first a gambler, and subse- 
quently a bold, visionary, but brilliant tinancier, succeeded 
Crozat in the privileges of this grand scheme, and secured 
from the successor of Louis XIV. a monopoly of the trade and 
development of the French possessions in the valley. In 
order to carry out his wild enterprise he organized a colossal 
stock company, called "The Western Company," but more 
generally known in history as "The Mississippi Bubble." 
According to the historian Monett " it was vested with the ex- 
clusive privilege of the entire commerce of Louisiana and 
New France, and with authority to enforce its rights. It was 
authorized to monopolize the trade of all the colonies in the 
provinces, and of all the Indian tribes within the limits of that 
extensive region, even to the remotest source of every stream 
tributary in anyw^ise to the Mississippi." So skillful and dar- 
ing were his manipulations that he bewitched the French peo- 
ple with the fascinations of stock gambling. The excitement 
in Paris is thus described by Thiers: " It was no longer the 
professional speculators and creditors of the government who 
frequented the rue Quincampoix ; all classes of society min- 
gled there, cherishing the same illusions — noblemen famous on 
the field of battle, distinguished in the government, churchmen, 
traders, quiet citizens, servants whom their suddenly-acquired 
fortune had filled with the hope of rivaling their masters." 

The rue Quincampoix was called the Mississippi. 

The month of December was the time of the greatest in- 
fatuation. The shares ended by raising to eighteen and twenty 
thousand francs — thirty-six and forty times the first price. 

At the price which they had attained the six hundred thousand 
shares represented a capital of ten or twelve billions of francs. 

But the bubble soon burst and its explosion upset the finances 
of the whole kingdom. 

Some years later, in 1745, a French engineer named De- 
verges made a report to his government in favor of improving 
the mouth of the Mississippi, and stated that the bars there 
existing were a serious injury to commerce. 



THE FRENCH REGAIN LOUISIAXA. 287 

Bat France mot with too powerful rivalry in the valley and 
in 1762 and 17(33, after a supremacy of nearly a hundred 
years, was crowded out by the English from the Atlantic col- 
onies, and the Spaniards from the southwest, the Mississippi 
River forming the dividing line between the regions thus ac- 
quired by those two nations. 

The Spanish officials, for the purpose of promoting colon- 
ization, and to aid in establishing trading posts on the Missis- 
sippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Red and other rivers in the western 
half of the valley, granted to certain individuals, pioneers, 
and settlers, large tracts of land. They made little progress, 
however, in peopling their new territory. 

But whatever progress was made under the successive su- 
premacies of France and Spain, the Mississippi and its navi- 
gable tributaries supplied the only highw^ays of communication 
and commerce. 

In the year 1800, soon after Napoleon I. became the civil 
ruler of France, he sought to add to the commercial glory of 
his country by reaccjuiriug the territory resting upon the Mis- 
sissippi which his predecessors had parted with in 1763. 

To quote the language of a French historian: " The ces- 
sion that France made of Louisiana to Spain in 1703 had been 
considered in all our maritime and commercial cities as impol- 
itic and injurious to the interests of our navigation, as well 
as to the French AVest Indies, and it was very generally wished 
that an opportunity might occur of recovering that colony. 
One of the first cares of Bonajjarte was to renew with the 
court of Madrid a negotiation on that subject." He succeeded 
in these negotiations, and by the secret treaty of Ildefonso, 
in 1800, French domination was once more established over 
the great river. 

Two years later the commerce of the river had grown to 
large proportions. Says Marbois, of that period, " No rivers 
of Europe are more frequented than the Mississippi and tribu- 
taries." A substantially correct idea of their patronage may 
be obtained from the record of the foreign commerce from the 
mouth of the Mississippi, for nearly all of the commodities 
collected there for export had first floated down the river. Of 
the year 1802, says Martin in his history of 'Louisiana : 
*' There sailed from the Mississippi — 

No. Tons 

American vessels 158 21,38£ 

iSpanish vessels 104 9,753 

^French vessels 3 105 

Total 265 31,241 



288 Gould's history of river navigation. 

*' The tonnage of vessels that went in ballast, not that of 
public armed ones, is not included. The latter took off masts, 
yards, spars, and naval stores." 

This growing commercial movement down the river of the 
products of the valley was checked by a foolish or arbitrary 
order issued on the 16th of October, 1802, by the Intendant 
Morales, " suspending the right of deposit " at the port of 
New Orleans. 

Marbois well illustrates the intense indignation at this order 
on the part of the Western people by attributing to them the 
following language: " The Mississippi is ours by the law of 
nature; it belongs to us by our numbers, and by the labor 
which we bestowed on those spots which before our arrival 
were desert and barren. Our innumerable rivers swell it and 
flow with it into the Gulf Sea. Its mouth is the only issue 
which nature has given to our waters, and we wish to use it 
for our vessels. No power in the world shall deprive us of 
this right." 

Of Morales's order James Madison, then Secretary of State, 
wrote to the official representative of the United States at the 
Court of Spain: "You are aware of the sensibility of our 
Western citizens to such an occurrence. This sensibility is 
justified by the interest they have at stake. The Mississippi 
to them is everything. It is the Hudson, the Deleware, the 
Potomac, and all the navigable rivers of the Atlantic States 
formed into one stream." 

At this time, Thomas Jefferson was President, and in view 
of the uneasiness of the Western settlers he hastened to send 
to France a special embassador to negotiate for the purchase 
of Louisiana Territory. The opportunity was a favorable 
one, for France was then in danger of a conflict with Great 
Britain. The latter country had become alarmed at and 
jealous of Bonaparte's commercial conquests, and he, ap- 
prehending war and fearing that he could not hold Louisiana, 
had about determined to do the next best thing — dispose of 
it to one of England's rivals. 

Marbois, the historian of Louisiana, from whom we have 
above quoted, was chosen by Napoleow to represent France in 
the negotiations with the representative of the United States 
sent by Jefferson. His account of the cession — the consul- 
tation between Napoleon and his minister — and of his re- 
marks and motives, forms one of the most instructive and 
interesting chapters of modern history. Napoleon fore-i 
shadowed his action by the following remark to one of his, 
counselors: "To emancipate nations from the commercial 



NAFOLEON'S reason for selling LOUISIANA. 289 

tyranny of England it is necessary to balance her influence by 
a maritime power that may one day become her rival; that 
power is the United States. The English aspire to dispose of 
all the riches of the world. I shall be useful to the whole 
universe if I can prevent their ruling America as they do 
Asia." 

In a subsequent conversation with two of his ministers, on 
the 10th of April, 1803, on the subject of the proposed cession, 
be said, in speaking of England: " They shall not have the 
Mississippi which they covet." 

In accordance with this conclusion, on the 30th day of the 
same month the sale was made to the United States. When 
informed that his instructions had been carried out and the 
treaty consummated, he remarked: "This accession of terri- 
tory strengthens forever the power of the United States, and 
I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner 
or later humble her pride." 

Under the stimulating influence of American enterprise the 
commerce of the valley rapidly developed. In 1812 it entered 
upon a new era of progress by t^ie introduction for the first 
time upon the waters of the Mississippi of steam transportation. 

The river trade then grew from year to year, until the total 
domestic exports of its sole outlet at the seaboard — the port 
of New Orleans — had during the fiscal year 1855-56, reached 
the value of over $80,000,000. Its prestige was then eclipsed 
by railways, the first line reaching the Upper Mississippi, at 
St. Louis, in 1857. Says Poor: "The line first opened in 
this State from Chicago to the Mississippi was the Chicago 
and Eock Island, completed in February, 1854. The com- 
pletion of this road extended the railway system of the coun- 
try to the Mississippi, up to this time the great route of 
commerce of the interior. This work, in connection with the 
numerous other lines since opened, has almost wholly diverted 
this commerce from what may be termed its natural to artifi- 
cial channels, so that no considerable portion of it now floats 
down the river to New Orleans." The correctness of this 
assertion may be seen by reference to the statistics of the 
total domestic exports of New Orleans during the year ending 
June 30, 1879. They were $63,794,000 in value, or sixteen 
millions less than in 1856, when the rivalry with railways 
began. 

But since 1879 the river has entered upon a new and im- 
portant era. The successful completion of the jetties by 
Capt. James B. Eads inaugurated a new era of river com- 
merce and regained for it some of its lost prestige. 

19 



290 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Anotber step of great importance to the welfare of the 
Mississippi was taken about the same time. The control of 
its improvement was transferred by Congress to a board of 
skilled engineers known as the Mississippi River Commission. 
The various conflicting theories of improvement which have 
for years past done m>uch to defeat the grand consummation 
desired will now be adjusted in a scientific and business-like 
manner." 

IMPROVEMENT OF WESTERN WATERS. 

In considering this mooted question of river improvement 
it may not be uninteresting to note some of the arguments 
and efforts that have been made from time to time during the 
earliest periods, since the agitation of the subject of '' Inter- 
nal Improveuients," in Congress, on the ground of unconsti- 
tutionality. 

After a partial acknowledgment of the right and duty of 
the Government to make appropriations for such purposes in 
the act instructing Capt. H. M. Shreve to remove the Red 
River Raft^ and subsequently the snags and wrecks in navi- 
gable rivers, the first damper that was experienced came 
through a veto of President James K. Polk, of an appropria- 
tion bill, involving the question of viternal i77iproveme7its. 
He, with many others, at thtit time, taking the ground that 
the government could not'constitutionally make appropriations 
for such works, and very strangely included that of river im- 
provements, while claiming exclusive jurisdiction over them 
and the "right to regulate commerce between the States." 
That put an end to all works of internal improvement by the 
government, laid the snag-boats to the bank, where they 
remained until they decayed and were then sold for a trifle. 

After the ex[)iration of Mr. Polk's administration and a 
more thorough discussion of the subject by the people, the 
conclusion prevailed that the government had the right and it 
was its duty to make the necessary appropriations to improve 
rivers, bays, harbors, etc. 

From that time to the present the question has been what 
rivers should be improved, and how best to improve them. 

The manner of improvement is still a mooted question, and 
conflicting opinions prevail. Every year, however, develops 
the fact that river navigation is not so necessary to the com- 
merce of the valley as it was once supposed to be, and some 
large rivers are partially ignored, also many small ones, as 
bemgof no importance to the general commerce of the coun- 
try — notably the Missouri, the Arkansas and some other 



DECREASE IN WATER TRANSPORTATION. - 291 

streams. Later on, when the demand shall have largely in- 
creased for transportation, navigable waters will again become 
important factors, and it would seem a wise policy for the 
government to abandon for the time being the improvement 
of such streams, and devote its energies to the improvement 
of those now requiring it. 

At the present time, 1889, there seems to be a general fall- 
ing off in water transportation at the South as well as at the 
North, and a feeling pervades the whole Mississippi Valley 
that the decline is permanent, and never to be recovered. 

This conclusion is based upon the observation and experience 
of the last few j^ears, and has not been arrived at too soon. 

It has arisen from natural causes, the result of the progress 
of the age, and demands a corresponding advance in the sys- 
tem of water transportation to meet it. This may require 
some years to perfect, but it is not too soon to recognize the 
necessity. 

Fifty years was spent after the application of steam to 
navigation to arrive at the best mode of adopting it to com- 
mercial purposes. Modern science has made available a more 
expeditious, a more practicable mode of transportation for 
passengers and many kinds of freight, and it is only a ques- 
tion of time when the same agency will bring about a corre- 
sponding system of water transportation. 

These great natural water ways in the Mississippi Valley, so 
convenient and so necessary to its commerce, will never be 
abandoned or left as mere sanatorians to the country through 
which they flow forever onward to the ocean. 

The rapid development of the country is slowly awakening 
the government and the people who constitute the govern- 
ment, to a sense of the necessity of so improving these great 
arteries of commerce that they will be equal to the emer- 
gencies as soon as they arise, which will not be long deferred. 

To the boatman of the present generation, to a superficial 
observer, the "good time coming" seems a great way off, 
and they are ready to exclaim, all is lost ! " Othello's occupa- 
tion is gone." 

But when we contrast the situation now with what it was 
fifty years ago in this valley, what may not be realized five 
hundred years hence. 

The present generation owe something to posterity, and 
although their occupation may be well nigh gone, their ex- 
perience is of value and ought not to be lost. 

There has long pervaded the minds of many experienced 
boatmen that the puny efforts of the government to improve 



292 Gould's history of river navigation. 

the navigation ol Western rivers would prove abortive, that 
no permanent good would result. 

And such theories have not only been entertained, but often 
expressed contrary to the opinions of long experienced gov- 
ernment engineero. 

This is unwise and damaging, and a little reflection ought 
to satisfy any one that the only way to make the best, the 
most permanent improvement is through experiments. Hence^ 
if the government expends fifty million dollars and fifty years, 
time in determining the best mode of imiiroving the naviiiable 
waters of this valley, who can say it was not well expended? 

That there should be differences of opinion as to the best 
mode of improving certain streams, there is no doubt. But 
to condemn any plan without being able to suggest a better 
one, is absurd. This is a sectional question and one upon 
which this valley ought to be agreed, and to act in concert. 
Otherwise we are liable to be combined against in any Con- 
gress and fail altogether. 

To doubt the practicability of the plan of improving the 
Mississippi Kiver, as recommended and adopted by the Mis- 
sissippi Kiver Commission, would be impolitic, />roi'uZe(Z the 
people of the valley stand by them and see that Congress 
continues the necessary appropriations from year to year. 
In the year 1872 the following communication appeared in the 
jSt. Louis liepnblican : — 

navigation between ST. LOUIS AND CAIRO. 

Editor Republican: From recent surveys and estimates 
made by our present eihcient and competent ofiicer in charge- 
of " Western river improvements," Gen. Reynolds, it is sat- 
isfactorily determined that a seven-foot stage of water may be 
obtained from here to Cairo during the lowest stages of the 
river, at the small cost of $300,000. (Greatly underesti- 
mated.) 

By the construction of dykes or wing-dams, of piles, brushy 
or rock at twelve different points on the river, it is estimated 
a permanent channel may be secured and with very little dan- 
ger of being removed. 

No one will doubt the expediency of the expenditure. And 
if this object could be secured by the outlay of $3,000,000 the 
merchants, underwriters and steamboat owners of this city 
could well afford to pay the interest on that sum for all time- 
to come. But it is not necessary for them to pay the interesti 
or principal on any sum to secure the object. 



IMPKOVEMENT BETWEEN ST. LOUIS AND CAIRO. 293 

By a conceit of action, prompt and decided, an appropria- 
tion may be obtained at the approaching sesjsion of Congress 
and the entire work completed within twelve months. 

No argument is necessary to show the importance of the 
work. AVith a seven foot stage of water, flour was being car- 
ried to New Orleans for 40 cents per barrel freight ; to-day, 
with a four- foot stage, freight is $1 per barrel. 

The important question to determine is how to secure the 
appropriation for this specific work. 

Since the government has recognized the necessity of re- 
suming the further improvement of Western rivers, so sig- 
nally interrupted by the veto power of a Western president, 
James K. Polk, various sums have been appropriated from 
year to year, to be expended under the direction of the engi- 
neer department of the government. 

Last year the amount appropriated for the general im- 
provement of the Mississippi was cut down b}^ the manipula- 
tion of the committee on appropriations to $iJO,000, while it 
should have been at least $250,000, in order to have made 
available the snag and dredging boats the government had 
already in service, saying nothing about the iron boats it pro- 
poses to build for this particular kind of improvement. 

A few thousand dollars expended at the present time be- 
tween here and Cairo would be of incalculable service by a 
properly constructed dredging boat. But the meagre appro- 
priation is all expended, the government boats all laid up and 
commerce crippled in consequence. We cannot afford to dis- 
pense with the general improvement appropriation. Neither 
would it be well to suggest it, as every one knows who is at all 
conversant with congressional legislation, that the appropria- 
tion bill, is an " omnibus bill," and subject to be manipu- 
lated by all who have any claims for appropriations. And all 
portions of the Mississippi valley have claims. 

If we can secure the appropriation of $.500,000 for the Mis- 
sissippi, Missouri, Arkansas and Red Elvers, including the 
proposed improvement between here and Cairo, all interests 
may be pretty well served, and a large influence from all 
parts of the valley brought to bear upon the committee in 
making up the general appropriation bill. 

It is fair to presume we can rely upon our Western mem-j 
bers of Congress interesting themselves and doing what they 
can to secure this object, consistently with their other duties; i 
but as their time is usually occupied in looking after the gen-! 
«ral interests of their constituents, it might be advisable to, 
secure the services of some good, efficient man to go to Wash-^ 



294 - Gould's history of river navigation, 

ington, and, in connection with our delegations, do what lobby- 
ing may be necessary to secure that appropriation. 

The object is worthy the effort, and no time should be lost 
in putting the ball in motion. 

A pu])lic meeting of those most interested should be called^, 
and the proper plan of proceeding agreed upon, and there can 
be but little doubt of the result. E. W. Gould. 

Two years previous to the foregoing communication, or in 
1870, the following is an extract from the same paper refer- 
ring to the necessity of protecting navigation against the en- 
croachment of dangerous bridge piers, and the necessity of 
larger appropriations for the protection of river commerce : 

[For the Republican.] 
RIVER APPROPRIATIONS, 1870. 

Mr. Editor: It is a recognized fact that the public press- 
is the medium through which all great enterprises are inaugur- 
ated, all reforms introduced, and new ideas promulgated. The 
all-absorbing public enterprise of the present day seems to be 
railroad building. One can hardly look into a newspaper, 
either city or country, without noticing one Or more commu- 
nications upon the im[)ortance of extending some railroad al- 
ready built, or building a new one. Then follows a long^ 
editorial, settino; forth in slowing terms the great benefits ta 
be derived by the city and country through which it is proposed 
to run said road, winding up by an earnest appeal to the 
philanthropy or interest of everybody, to contribute to the 
great enterprise. 

This is all right, and indicates the proper spirit. And 
whether it is all true or not, we want the railroads to develop 
the country, and whether those that pay for them derive the 
benefit or not, is a matter in which the public are not so much 
interested. But there is a matter in which the public are in- 
terested, and - to this I wish particularly, Mr. Editor, to call 
your attention, as w^ell as that of your cotemporaries through- 
out the West and South. I refer to our river improvement. 
This may at first thought seem to be a stale subject, one that 
has already been exhausted, and abandoned to the tender mer- 
cies of Congress. But let us see, before giving this matter 
up, what the facts are, what has been accomplished and what 
is proposed to be done. 

The government, assuming control and jurisdiction over the 
navigable waters of the country, is the only part}^ to whom 
I we can look to foster and protect the commerce of our rivers. 



THE REMEDY FOR MARINE DISASTERS. 295 

And what has it done towards improving or protecting these 
mighty highwuj^s that float annually more commerce than our 
Atlantic ports combined? I apprehend it has done more to 
destroy the safe navigation of our rivers, by granting to rail- 
roads the privilege of erecting bridges over them, than it has 
ever done to improve them. 

Seldom a week passes that we do not hear of the loss of 
some steamboat, coal boat, raft, or other water craft (saying 
nothing about the loss of life), while attempting to pass these 
railroad obstructions. It is contended they are necessary evils 
and must be endured. Although every man of ordinary intel- 
ligeuce knows they can be constructed just as safely, if not so 
economically, in a manner that will not materially interfere 
with naviiiation. It is only a matter of dollars and cents with 
the railroad companies. Not satisfied with granting to them 
subsidies by the million, in the shape of public lauds, bonds, 
&c., Congress seems determined to sacrifice the couimerce of 
the rivers by granting to them any privilege they may ask. 

The question is not unfrequently asked by individuals as 
well as newspapers: Can not something be done to avoid the 
terrible marine disasters that are so frequently occurring on 
our rivers? U-ndcrwriters say, are w'e to be broken u]), can 
nothing be done? Travelers hesitate, and often remark they 
would like to take a trip on one of those fine boats, but sa 
many accidents occur they prefer staying at home, &c., &c. 

Shippers complain of the exorbitant rates of freight boats 
are obliged to charge, in consequence of the dangerous navi- 
gation and the high rates of insurance they are compelled to 
pay, if indeed they can obtain insurance at all. Thus the 
whole community are directly or indirectly interested in the 
improvement of our rivers. And what measures of relief is 
the government proposing? What has it done to accomplish 
this entirely practical thing ? Nothing, comparatively, nothing. 

Three years ago Congress made a small appropriation, and 
ordered three snag-boats built. After much delay and per- 
plexity in consequence of the red tape formality, the officer 
placed in charge of the work succeeded in completing the 
boats. Subsequently he was authorized to bu}^ two or three 
more small boats for dredging, etc. With this little fleet he 
set to work to remove the snags and other obstructions from 
a given number of rivers, whose length embrace some 7,000 
miles. But notwithstanding the inexperience of the officer in 
charge, as well as those of his officers and men, great good 
was accomplished. Thousands of snags and other dangerous 
obstructions were removed, besides many troublesome sand 



296 Gould's history or rivek navigation. 

bars on the Upper Mississippi were excavated, and navigation 
much improved. But, unfortunately, about the time the offi- 
cers and men engaged in the work had become familiar with 
it, and knew how to prosecute it to advantage, the appropria- 
tion of money was exhausted, and the whole fleet have been 
tied to the shore at Mound City for months, while the officer 
who had the work in charge has been removed to the Northern 
lakes, and the men scattered to the four quartets of the globe. 

If Congress ever gets through with reconstruction, and 
should consent to take up the general appropriation bill, we 
may hope to get another appropriation, provided our Western 
delegation do not sacrifice us to some railroad sclieme. If no 
appropriation is made, the snag boats will soon become worth- 
less from decay, and will then be sold at auction, as were 
those built by the government under the direction of Capt. 
Shreve 35 years ago. 

The question that naturally suggests itself here is: Why 
this neglect? Wh}- are such important maritime interests left 
so long to suffer, Avhile the government is appropriating mill- 
ions for railroads and other purposes annually? To be sure, 
Congress has made two small appropriations for the improve- 
ment of the rapids of the Mississippi. But the canal at Louis- 
ville has been ten j^ears under contract for enlargement, and 
not lini shed yet for want of means, while a railroad bridge 
has been built across the river at that point in less than 
three years — a work of greater magnitude than that of the 
canal — and will do more to obstruct the navigation of the 
river, than the canal will to improve it, except for the largest 
class of boats. So much for individual enterprise, and the 
influence of the press. 

Now, Mr. Editor, if you and j'our cotemporaries through 
the Mississippi Valley will take up the subject of our river 
improvement, and ventilate it, and advocate its claims with 
half the zeal and determination you do that of a railroad or 
other public enterprizes, our delegations in Congress Mould 
never presume to return to their constituents until they had 
secured an appropriation that would render the navigation of 
our rivers as safe from obstructions as that of the lakes. 

This is entirelv practicable, as has been abundantly proven, 
and the appropriation of the insignificant sum of half a million 
annually, for a few 3^ears, will accomplish the object. 

Can nothing be done to stimulate our representatives to 
move unanimously in this matter, and demand their rights? 
jThey have the power and ought to exercise it. 

E. W. Gould. 



DISCUt^SIXG THE SUBJECT OF RIVER IMPROVEMENT. 297 

From about that time frequent conventions were held in 
different parts of the valley and the subject of river improve- 
ments were freely discussed and many communications were 
addressed through the papers in the valley. Among others 
were the following: — 

•'RIVER IMPROVEMENTS." 

Editor Rppuhlican: In a recent number of the TimPft T no- 
tice an article over the sifjnature of "Pilot" in which the 
writer joins issue with me on the consistency of criticising the 
work done at " Horsetail" and other points by government 
engineers. 

I submit whether it is fair or consistent to indulge in any 
general denunciation without even an attempt at suggesting 
some better plan. 

It is in effect saying the river cannot be improved, and this, 
coming from practical river men, who are supposed to know 
of what tliey speak so often and so confidently, may lead our 
representatives in Congress to conclude that it is not worth 
their time to urge so persistently, as the}' are obliged to (in 
order to secure anything) the, necessity or utility of river im- 
provements. 

I am not an advocate of the present system of improving 
the river, if indeed there is any system. I have been of the 
opinion that the engineers having the work in charge have es- 
timated from time to time what could be done, with the best re- 
sults, with the small appropriations made — knowing from past 
experience that no large amounts need be expected, and have 
proceeded to make such improvements as in their judgment 
would most speedily improve navigation at the most difficult 
-points. 

That these have been the most judicious or the best that 
could have been made, I have no disposition to contend. I 
know of no precedents from which to judge. The character 
of the Mississippi is unlike that of any stream in this country 
Avhere experiments have been made. And I doubt whether even 
our engineers know, except from theory, the effect that any 
given work will have upon the channel of the river. 

They know, as we all do, that by contracting the channel, 
or the river sufficiently, they will secure deeper water. But 
the cost of building and maintaining works that will secure this 
result, must be for the present a matter of experiment. There 
is no doubt in my mind of the entire practicability of so im- 
.proving the Mississippi as to secure a channel depth from St. 



298 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Louis to New Orleans of eight feet, except when the upper 
livers are closed by ice. 

If that were done but little embarrassment would ever be 
felt from ice below St. Louis, and there would always be water 
for all practicable purposes unless closed. 

The best system to secure this result has never been sub- 
mitted to my knowledge, or indeed any comprehensive one, 
except the one proposed by Capt. J. B. Eads. Whether his 
plan is practicable or not is not my purpose to discuss at pres- 
ent, but rather to urge the adoption of some practicable plan 
to secure the necessary appropriation for the work. 

I cannot agree with " Pilot " that by requiring from " can- 
didates who offer themselves for Congress, a pledge to try 
and secure justice to this great interest, we should get all we 
■want." 

We can get those pledges all the time and without any com- 
bined effort. 

Experience has shown that something more than a pledge 
from members of Congress, elected upon a strict party plat- 
form, is necessary to secure the time and devotion the impor- 
tance of this great work demands. 

How many railroad subsidies and Credits Mobilier do you 
think, jNIr. Pilot, would ever have been secured by this pas- 
sive policy, relying upon the justice of the case? 

Congress is not a place to look for justice, and if we wait 
for tiiat our rivers will remain unimproved in the future as 
they have in the past. 

Our claim is certainly just, but in order to have it respected 
we must send men to Congress not onl}" pledged, but who 
understand the tricks and are willing to devote their time and 
influence to the promotion of the work. 

We need not expect to effect it in one session. The public 
mind must be educated up to the importance of the work. 
Members of Congress from different sections of the country 
must be secured and made to see that appropriations for this 
great national work should not hinge upon the amount appro- 
priated for small streams, bayous, inlets and unimportant 
landings. 

General appropriation bills are a kind of omnibus bill and 
are open for all to ride who can get inside. And hence every 
member is ready to jump in and load the thing down with un- 
important measures, without regard to any general good. 

So long as we look to the general appropriation bills for 
moans to improve our rivers, we shall never get enough to 
amount to anything. That was fully illustrated at the last 



THE RIGHT MAN IN CONGRESS. 29^ 

session of Congress. The bill was so loaded down with un- 
important measures, the president assumes the right, when 
signing the bill, to cut off a large portion of it. This he very 
unfairly did by reducing the whole amount of the river and 
harbor appropriation three-fifths, instead of selecting the 
less important ones and leaving those he recognized as proper 
and legitimate to receive the benefit of the sums mamed in 
the bill. 

But being upon the eve of a presidential election, he had 
not the moral courage to carry out his own convictions. Even 
in this case, if we had had the right man in Congress he would 
have stayed with the bill, and could have brought, in all prob- 
ability, influence enough to bear upon the President to have 
induced him to have allowed the amounts appropriated to our 
rivers to have remained, as passed by Congress. 

Now we are left with less thun enough to remove the snaga 
that have accumulated in the last six months, saying nothing 
about completing the works at " Horsetail " and other 
points. 

It is now too late of course to expect to accomplish much 
in the next Congress. But if all in the river interest will 
unite upon some consistent plan of operation and push it as- 
persistently as railroad men do their projects there is no doubt 
of the result. " 

At one of the early conventions of steamboat men, held at 
Cincinnati, I think, committees were appointed to confer with 
the Governors of States bordering upon navigable rivers, ask- 
ing them to appoint commissioners — two civil engineers and 
two [)ractical river men — (agreealily to my recollection) — 
from each State, to confer with two government engineers, 
as to the proper plan of improving all navigable rivers. 

This, that then seemed to be a judicious plan of communing, 
fell still-born, I suppose, as most other things have, looking 
to the general good of river interests. 

This or some more practical plan may be adopted, to set the 
ball in motion, and when once in motion it will only require 
the voles of its friends to keep it moving. Who will vote this 
ticket? E. W. Gould. 

1876. 

THE JETTIES AT THE PASSES. 

Editor Times: I find lying on my desk a marked copy of 
the Memphis Avahniche, of December 13, 1879, in which 
he following paragraphs are encircled: — 

*' It is a popular belief that the Eads jetties are a success.** 



300 Gould's history of river navigatioji. 

*' There is nothing really very wonderful in this popular 
policy, when it is considered that the influence of the press has 
been mainly exerted in behalf of this stupendous jetty fraud." 

"The power of the newspapers is sufiiciently great to make 
even the government solid for the Jetty business." 

" When the cash is all expended, and the contractors can 
see no prospect for any further subsidies, the dredge-boat will 
be broken up, the materials sbld for old iron and fire wood, 
and the famous jetty channel will be allowed to till up with 
Mississippi mud, unmixed by man's contrivances." 

Now, Mr. Editor, if you can tell the object of this unceas- 
ing war upon the jetties after everything has been accom- 
plished that was contemplated by the contractor and the 
government, you will confer a special favor upon our river 
improvement interests. 

While there was yet any reason to doubt the success of this 
manner of improvement, it was not surprising that the plan, 
the contractor, and even Congress, should be critcised by those 
Avho thought some other mode of improvement preferable, or 
"who felt envious towards Captain Eads. 

Among the latter might of course be expected General 
Humphreys, engineer-in-chief of the corpse of government 
engineers, and his subalterns who had years previously re- 
ported against the jetty plan. 

But at this late day, after the work has in the main l?een 
finished and the contemplated result secured, why this long 
continued opposition should be kept up, especially by those 
newspapers whose interests are so closely identified with every- 
thing connected with Southern and Western river navigation, 
seems passing strange. 

The most charitable construction to be placed upon it is, 
they have said " the horse was sixteen feet high," and are not 
willing to admit that possibly he was not more than fifteen 
and a half. 

Even if, as the Avalanche man suggests, the contractor 
breaks up his dredge-boat, and abandons the work when there 
are no more subsidies to be paid, the government can continue 
the work and secure the present depth of water, which is six 
feet more than has ever been in the Southwest pass, with all 
the dredging it has done, and at one-fourth the cost. 

But according to my recollection, the government, by its 
contract, has agreed to pay $100,000 a year for twenty years, 
to maintain the present depth of water. And so long as that 
contract continues there is no reason to suppose the contractor 
ivill care to abandon it. 



EXPERIMENTAL WORKS NECESSARY. 301 

Of this no practical man who is at all acquainted with the 
character of the Mississippi, and who will take the ttouble to 
go down to the jetties and examine the work, will doubt. 

I am, therefore, forced to the conclusion that those who keep 
up this continued tiirht against this splendid achievement of 
Captain Eads are either ignorant of the facts or jealous of the 
result. 

I have none but a common interest in the success of the 
jetties or in Captain Eads. But I think where a man has ac- 
complished so great a good to navigation as this work has 
already proven itself to be, under so many embarrassing cir- 
cumstances, sufficient time should at least be given to deter- 
mine its value before condemning it or his motives. 

But what is most to be deprecated in this connection, is the 
effect upon the public generally and upon members of Con- 
gress particularly. 

AVhile vigorous measures are being taken by those inter- 
ested in river navigation to secure the co-operation of mem- 
bers of Congress, and suitable appropriations to insure the 
improvement of our great natural highways to the gulf, to 
have a continued tirade of abuse, suspicion and doubt in regard 
to what the government has done or is trying to do to improve 
our navigation, can but embarrass all efforts in that direction 
and prove to those members of Congress who are always too 
ready to interpose objections to appropriations for river im- 
provements, that money voted for this object is being squan- 
dered and no benefits to navigation derived. 

This, to some extent, may be true. But what work has the 
government ever undertaken that has not cost more than it 
ought to have done? 

The various plans that have been advocated, and in some 
cases adopted, for the improvement of the Mississippi, are, of 
course, merely experiments, as there is no other river of its 
character known to navigation, where improvements havebeen 
made to any extent. 

If the government should expend a few millions in deter- 
mining the best mode of improving the navigation of the 
great rivers of the West and South, after having almost en- 
tirely neglected them for fifty years, it would be no great 
matter. And it comes with a bad grace from us here in the 
West, who are to be the recipients of the benefits sought, to 
be continually finding fault. 

Let us accept with gratitude what we can get and make the 
best use of it we can. 

If we don't strike the right plan at first, or some contractor 



302 Gould's history of river navigation. 

gets away with more than his share of it, or the work proves 
a failure, we will tiy again. 

The work to be accomplished is worthy of many trials, and 
the expenditure of many millions. And it can hardly be ex- 
j)ected that a system of improvements commensurate with the 
demands of the commerce of this mighty valley can be suc- 
cessfully carried out without the expenditure of large sums in 
surveying, in theorizing and in experiments. 

E. W. Gould. 

St. Louis, December 17, 1879. 

The following communication referring to debates in Con- 
gress on the subject of too much appropriation, is suggest- 
ive: — 

EIVERS AND HARBORS. 

To the Editor of the Republic: 

St. Louis, July 5, 1888. — I see this " omnibus bill '* is 
again under consideration by Congress. But with what prob- 
able success of passing, "no fellow can tell." "Its log- 
rolling" characteristics always endanger its passage, and 
although it has passed the Senate, as it always does, with 
some changes, it is by no means certain it will become a law. 

And yet the friends of the Mississippi river, the main artery 
of the commerce of this great valley, upon which hinge the 
benetits accruing to all others in the valley, adhere to the time 
honored custom of coupling its fate with that of all small 
streams, creeks, harbors, etc. 

The importance of this navigation, and the peculiar charac- 
ter of the soil through which the river runs, from the mouth 
of the Missouri to the Balize is such that a claim tor separate 
and independent legislation by Congress, ouijht to be recognized 
and if the delegations from the valley and the friends of the 
measure would unite and step boldly to the front, and insist 
upon this work standing upon its merits, there is but little 
doul)t of its being recognized. If not by the first effort, a 
determined opposition to include it in the general appropria- 
tion bill, for river and harbors, would soon secure the neces- 
sary legislation, and insure regular appropriations, as the 
work progressed. Even should this proi)osition be rejected 
for years, but little would be lost to navigation. The meager 
appropriations that are now being doled out from^^ear to year 
when any are made, is barely sufficient to show to practical 
men and to engineers in charge of the work, what could be 
accomplished by liberal annual appropriations. 



SENATOR PLUMB ON IMVKR APPKOPRIATION. 303 

The general public only know how little has been done 
towards pernianentlv inij)roving the navigation in all these 
^ears, without knowing ivhy move has not been accomiMshed 
and are beginning to look with suspicion upon every appro- 
priation that is asked for and to doubt the practicability of any 
attempt to improve the navigation of those great national 
highways. 

Senator Plumb struck the keynote to the present system of 
river improvements in his speech in the Senate last Saturday 
in discussing Senator Vest's proposition to dissolve the Mis- 
souri river commission. 

He said " while he had never voted for a river and harbor bill, 
he would be willing to vote an appropriation of $50,000,000 " 
if there was any guarantee that it would be judiciously ex[)ended. 
But he denounced the system of small and inadequate appro- 
priations that could be of no permanent benefit to navigation. 

He said he " was opposed to dumping it into small streams 
and insignificant harbors." 

I think, however, the Senator from Kansas is in error in his 
estimation of the engineer corps of the government. 

If correctly reported in The Republic's special of July 2 
from Washington, "he (Mr. Plumb) handled the engineer 
corps without gloves, and declared they knew nothing what- 
ever about civil engineering. They were fancy military men 
who employed practical engineers to do the work while they 
went into society," etc., etc. 

That is probably true in many instances. But to charge 
that they know nothing about civil engineering, and employ 
others to do their work, is not true when applied to the en- 
gineers that have been in charge of the river improvements in 
the Mississippi valley for the last twenty years. The rules of 
the war department are such that it is necessary for the oflS- 
cials working under it to use a great amount of red tape, and 
work is often delayed in consequence. But that is not the 
:fault of the engineers. So far as my acquaintance and ob- 
servation goes the government engineers in charge of the work 
on the Mississippi river and its tributaries have been good busi- 
ness men, with large practical experience in engineering, and 
in knowledge of the wants of navigation, with quite the aver- 
ajre ability to manafje and utilize skilled and unskilled labor, in 
the prosecution of their work. 

Failure on the part of the Congress to make sufficient pro- 
vision to prosecute a system of works to a successful termina- 
tion, or to fully test any proposed plan of improvement, 
should not be charged to the inefficiency of the engineers. 



304 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The truth is, the government has undertaken to do too 
much experimental work at one time. For as still as it is 
kei)t, the improvement of such rivers as the Lower Mississippi^ 
the Missouri and the Arkansas, is yet an experiment, so far as 
the best, the most permanent and most practical method of 
doing it is concerned. 

Although the system adopted by the Mississippi River 
Commission, so far as it has been fairly tried, seems probable 
to be entirely successful on such streams. 

Senator Vest's proposition to dispense with the services of 
the Missouri River, Commission is undoubtedly a step in the 
right direction, and another one w^ould be for him to move to 
strike out of the river and harbor bill the proposed appropria- 
tion for the improvement of the navigation of that stream. 
Although, considering his constituency and his own residence, 
it is not reasonable to suppose he would feel justified in mak- 
ing that effort now, even though the bill had not passed the 
Senate. But his observation for the last thirty years, I am 
satisfied, has been such that he could conscientiously oppose 
any more small appropriations, unless it was for the protection 
of the shores of some important cities and towns. 

The Senator has seen in the time mentioned the river com« 
merce of that stream fall off from the employment of sixty 
regular steamboats between St. Louis an Sioux City to none 
at m11 at the present time, except two or three small boats yet 
running at the lower end of the river, while the commerce of| 
the Missouri valley has increased in that time probably 1,000 
per cent. 

Ao;reeable to the bureau of statistic at Washinirton, the- 
government has expended a little less than $3,000,000 allj 
told in its effort to improve and protect the navigation of this 
river, principally within the time specified above. 

It is safe to say, however, that all the benefit that has ac- 
crued to navigation from the expenditure of this large amounti 
of money has been counterbalanced by the damage produced | 
by illy-constructed bridges. 

It requires no further argument to show the fallacy of con- 
tinuing the Missouri river Commission, or of the small appro- 
priations that have heretofore been made. 

If the experiments that are now being made on the Mis- 
sissippi from the mouth of the Missouri to New Orleans arej 
successful and secure good, permanent navigation the wholei 
distance, it will establish the practicability of appropriating! 
large and sufficient sums of money to make good and safe- 
navigation on all streams of like character. 



APPROPRIATIONS FOR MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 305 

Then it may be possible, and even practiccable, to secure 
appropriations sufficient to so improve the Missouri as to 
make it a competitor for the transportation of bulky freights, 
with the numerous railroads that are now monopolizing the 
entire commerce of that valley. But to persist in asking 
Congress to continue appropriations for the improvement of 
such rivers before they are absolutely necessary to accommo- 
date the commerce of the country, or a plan has been deter- 
mined upon by which they can be successfully improv^ed, is 
unwise, and involves the liability of suspending work indefi- 
nitely on the Mississippi and other streams that are of great 
importance to commerce. 

If the friends of the Western river improvements, both in 
Congress and out of it, would change their tactics to a less 
*' h)g-roIling," or, as Senator Vest puts it, " a species of 
agreement," would probably secure in the end more satisfac- 
tory results. 

E. W. Gould. 

" Capt. E. W. Gould is recognized by all as most compe- 
tent authority upon all matters pertaining to our rivers and 
their commerce, and the following communication from him 
possesses much of interest to our merchants, shippers and 
steamboatmen: " — 

PRACTICAL EFFECT OF DEEPENING THE MISSISSIPPI BETWEEN 
ST. LOUIS AND CAIRO. 

Editor Republican : There seems no time so appropriate to 
awaken public interest, and especiall}^ that of business men, as 
when their business is being seriously embarrassed by any 
temporary cause. 

That such cause now exists in consequence of the ice em- 
bargo there can be no doubt. I therefore propose, with your 
indulgence, to call the attention of shippers particularly to 
some facts connected with the suspension of navigation be- 
tween here and Cairo. 

It has now been nearly three weeks since navigation has been 
virtually suspended, and the probability is it will remain so 
for some weeks to come. 

I question if there can be found a man in the city, whose 
opinion is entitled to consideration, that will not agree that if 
there were eight feet of water in the channel there would have 
been no serious interruption of navigation up to the present 
time. 

20 



306 Gould's history of river navigation. 

I leave it to those most interested to determine the amount 
of damage that has already been sustained by the ice embargo 
this winter. 

It is claimed by many good practical engineers that it is 
entirely within the possibility of modern science to so deepen 
the channel from here to Cairo to afford eiofht feet of water at 
all seasons. 

If this is practicable, as I believe it to be, it would insure 
good and safe navigation the year round in some years, and 
but a short suspension in others. By deepening the channel 
and securing the banks, which must necessarily follow, if made 
permanent, the places where the ice usually blocks first would 
be easily removed by straightening the river at those points — 
thus removing in a great measure the liability of an ice block- 
ade, except in very severe weather. 

The principal liability would be in extreme high water in 
the Ohio, when the Mississippi is backed up and the current 
checked so that the ice will not run out. I3ut as the water is 
always high at such times there need be no difficulty in keep- 
ing the river open at that point by moving a government snag 
boat, or any other boat, through it as often as might be found 
necessary and at small expense. 

The only formidable objection that can be raised to this 
great enterprise is the cost of it, and I submit whether the 
damage to commerce is not (every winter navigation is sus- 
pended for two months) sufficient to pay the entire cost of 
the improvement — saying nothing of the great benefit to be 
derived during the usual low-water season. 

The government has long since recognized the importance 
of this work, and has made many small inadequate appropri- 
ations to improve the navigation, but in consequence of not 
having first comprehended the magnitude of the work, and 
its great importance to commerce, the various appropriations 
have generally been frittered away without accomplishing 
much good. 

The people of the valley have now so far waked up to the 
importance of water transportation there is a reasonable ex- 
pectation that Congress will indorse the recommendations of 
the " commission " that was appointed by the President on 
the Mississippi River, and make the appropriation at this 
session to inaugurate the work. 

This will be a great point gained, and will almost insure a 
continuance of the work to its ultimate completion. 

But this proposition is confined to the river .below Cairo, 
and will not be extended above that point for several years 



THE ICE BLOCKED AT ST. LOUIS. 307 

unless active measures are taken by citizens interested in the 
commerce of the river, living at St. Louis and in the country 
above. 

The present blockade is very suggestive, and there is no 
doubt that a combined effort by all parties in interest at the 
present time, would do much to secure the favorable consider- 
ation of Congress to our pressing and immediate necessities. 

It is only by active and vigorous measures that we can ex- 
pect special attention to this part of the river in the near 
future. E. W. Gould. 

St. Louis, December 10, 1880. 

IMPROVEMENT OF MISSOURI RIVER. 

St. Louis, Nov. 17, 1882. 

Editor Republican: There seems to be some apprehension 
:as to what disposition is to be made of the $800,000 appro- 
priated by the last Congress for the improvement of this river. 
If it is proposed to enter upon a general system of improve- 
ment along the whole course of the river, from the mouth to 
■Sioux City, a distance of 800 miles, according to plans sub- 
mitted by Maj. Suter, leaving the bridges unprotected and 
other important work at the lower part of the river neg- 
lected, it will, in my opinion, be a grave mistake if not a 
blunder, and will demand an investigating committee from 
Congress far more than the works or the proposed work of 
improvement on the Lower Mississippi. 

Agreeable to estimates made and submitted to the secretary 
of war by Maj. Suter, the engineer more especially in charge 
of this work, it was estimated to cost eiglit millions of dollars, 
to secure a minimum depth of water of 10 feet in the channel 
the whole distance; provided the whole amount was appropri- 
ated at one time, and subject to the draft of the engineer in 
charge of the work whenever called for. 

This or any other sum might be considered a prudent esti- 
mate, upon that condition, as it is not among even the possi- 
bilities that any such sum can ever be secured at one time for 
this work. And if attempted to be done by appropriations, 
from time to time, agreeable to the caprice of Congress, it 
will undoubtedly cost double the amount of the estimate, if 
indeed it is ever done. 

I doubt if there is a man living, whose opinions are 
valid upon this subject, who will not condemn any plan 
of improvement involving the probable cost of this 



308 Gould's history of river navigation. 

work — between Kansas City and Sioux City — certainly not 
for many years to come. 

A glance at the map will convince any one, who is not 
blind, that the distance across the country to the lakes or to 
tide water is so much less than by the meanderings of the 
river that the commerce of that portion of the country will 
never seek the river route whatever may be the character of 
navigation. 

HOW TO EXPEND $800,000. 

The distance from the mouth of the river to Kansas City, 
or perhaps St. Joseph, is not so great but that with the bridge 
piers, properly protected, the removal of snags, wrecks and 
trees, with an occasional dredging at certain points, the navi- 
gation may be made equal to the demands of commerce for a 
sum, probably consistent with the views of Congress. 

There is no need often feet of water in^that river. If six 
feet is secured it will be quite sufficient for all practical pur- 
poses for twenty years to come. 

Such is the competition with railroads even now, that freights 
lare carried as cheaply to and from all points on that river as 
to most others the same distance to a market. 

If the present appropriation of $800,000 is frittered away in 
surveys, plants and preparations for a general sj'stem of im- 
provement, nothing beneficial to the present navigation is 
likely to ^result, and if we can judge anything from the pres- 
ent temper of the people, it is fair to presume that the next 
appropriation for river and harbor improvements will be con- 
fined to strictly legitimate works. And there are too many of 
them in the West and South to jeopardize them by asking for 
appropriations for improvements not necessary to the com- 
merce of the country for many years to come, if ever. 

Would it not be far better and more consistent with the cir- 
cumstances to economize in the use of the present appropria- 
tion and expend it in doing what is known to be practical work, 
and very necessary too, than to launch out upon an untried, 
and doubtful theory, involving millions of dollars? 

It is well known the character of the Missouri and Missis- 
sippi, below the mouth of the Missouri, are very similar, and! 
as the system adopted by the " Mississippi River Commission "' 
I is yet an experiment, prudence would certainly suggest thei 
'wisdom of waiting until the result of these experiments is 
I known. 

Members of Congress from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and 
lotlier Western States, who contributed so largely in securing 



LEVEES NECESSARY FOR GOOD NAVIGATION. 309 

the appropriations for river improvements the last session, 
-and who feel the necessity for improved navigation on the 
Missouri, will recognize the propriety of a judicious expendi- 
ture of this $800,000, well knowing that unless satisfactory 
results are secured, further appropriations will be withheld. 

The whole amount of this appropriation can be judiciously 
expended between the mouth and Fort Benton, in the manner 
I have intimated, and good results secured for every dollar of 
it, and involve no risk or experiment. 

E. W. Gould. 



CHAPTEE XLYII. 

FIRST IMPROVEMENT ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 

IN 1699 and before any settlements had been made in the 
Valley, Bienville, the French exidorer, found the river par- 
tially obstructed at one point by a drift pile which he removed 
and allowed the water free passage. This was probabl}'^ the 
first attempt to improve the navigation of what were termed 
Western Watei'S. 

In a statistical work recently issued by the Treasury De- 
partment under the direction of Colonel Wm. F. Switzler the 
following interesting statistical account is taken. 

The great diversity of opinion on this important subject is 
sufficient apology for the extended quotations from this valu- 
able work. 

While it is principall}'- local, and confined to the Lower 
Mississippi, it is still national in character and involves the 
question of river improvements throughout the entire Missis- 
sippi Valley. 

" It is now recognized by the Mississippi River Commission 
that levees are an important factor in river improvement, and 
that whatever is done to restrain the volume of the river with- 
in its banks will enable it to cut out its channel and to give 
deeper water and better navigation. This doctrine was forci- 
bly enunciated by the Commission in its first report, and it has 
since assisted liberally in the building of levees, recognizing 
them as important elements in river improvement. On this 
basis, therefoie, the amount expended on levees by the several 
lower river States may be properly included among the ex- 
penditures for the improvement of navigation. They un- 



310 Gould's history of river navigation. 

doubtedly had that effect, as was well shown by the fact that 
in Louisiana, where the levees were maintained in the earliest 
day, the river was always deep and never troubled by bars,, 
whereas above, there were frequent obstructions. As a mat- 
ter of fact, however, these levees were created with no ex- 
pectation or intention of deei)ening the Mississippi, nor, indeed, 
with any idea that they had that effect. They were con- 
structed wholly for defensive purposes to protect the land from 
overflow. 

The iirst work of the new settlers on the Mississippi in 1717 
was to construct a levee for the purpose of protecting them- 
selves from overiiow, but without any idea of ijn proving 
navigation. 

FIRST WORK BY THE FRENCH. 

The first regular river improvement was that attempted by 
the French Government in 172(), for the purpose of removing 
the bar from the mouth of the Mississippi, deepening its navi- 
gation, and allow ingthe easy entrance of its largest war vessels. 
At that time the Mississippi afforded a depth of only 6 or 8 
feet, and while this was sufficient for the small vessels enijao-ed 
in the colonial trade, it was not for the men-of-war seekino- 
refuge in the river. The process adopted for removing the 
bar was one followed for many years afterward. It consisted 
simply in dragging iron harrows over the shallow places, stir- 
ring up the mud, which was carried away by the current. It 
was successful temporarily. The required depth was obtained, 
but it was only for a short time, and it had to be done over 
again repeatedly. 

While some records exist of the work done on the levees 
under the French and Spanish regimes, there is very little said 
about river improvement. The only works undertaken were 
the leveeing of the banks, which had the effect of deepening 
the channel, the dredging at the bar to secure a better depth 
there, and the removal of snags and logs. 

The Spanish Government, which devoted itself very assidu- 
ously to developing and improving the material resources of 
the country, cleared out the mouths of Bayous Manchac and 
La Fourche, and thus gave better connection between the 
Mississippi and these streams. As the clearing of the river 
banks gave a deep, navigable stream along all that portion of 
the Mississippi then settled (from Bayou Sara down), there 
was really nothing to be done save to keep the mouth of the 
river open and to clear it of floating drift. The first was done 
by the Government, the latter generally by the people, al- 



EMIGRANTS REMOVING OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE RIVER. 311 

though once or twice officers assisted in removing a trouble- 
some raft where the logs and timber piled up in large masses, 
affectino; navigation more or less. 

The cession of the country to the United States caused no 
change. Nothing was done for the specific purpose of river 
improvement, although that was incidentally obtained by the 
levees constructed. About the time of the battle of New Or- 
leans an important work was performed in the construction,^ 
under the order of General Jackson, of a dike over Bayou 
Manchac. Baj'ou Manchac connects the Mississippi River 
with the Amite, or Iberville, and Lake Pontchartrain and the 
Gulf, and is thus a short cut to the sea. It was frequently 
used for purposes of navigation during the early days of the 
colony, and it was by this route that Bienville and his men 
entered the river from the settlements on the Mississippi 
Sound coast, thus avoiding the danger of a trip through the 
Gulf and passes and up the river. General Jackson's purpose 
in closing the bayou was not river improvement, but military 
defense, as this route offered the British an easy entrance into 
the Mississippi above New Orleans. The Avork, however, in 
the view now taken of river improvements by the Mississippi 
River Commission was an important one, being the first step 
towards closing outlets and thus conh'niug the Mississippi to a 
single channel and forcing it to cut out and deepen that chan- 
nel. 

The large number of people who about this time came pour- 
ing down the river from every portion of the upper country, 
but particularly from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and 
Pennsylvania, resulted in some improvement of the river, or 
rather in the removal of the obstructions in the way of logs, 
rafts, sawyers, etc., that had previously existed. The work 
was done altogether by the boatmen. The States did nothing, 
and the United States Government did not recognize its 
obligations in this matter until about 1829, when it inaugur- 
ated, under Captain Shreve, the snag-boat system. Previous 
to that time, the boatmen themselves had removed, in their 
passage down stream, the numerous logs which obstructed 
and rendered the navigation of the river dangerous. The set- 
tlers were everywhere felling the forests along its banks, 
rafts and logs were being floated down, barges and flat-boats 
sinking, and, asaco«isequeuce, the river was far more danger- 
ous than to-day. When the first steamboat, the New Orleans, 
contemplated making her trial trip to New Orleans, a special 
agent was sent ahead to examine the route and see what were 
the obstructions in the way and to remove them. 



312 Gould's history of river navigation. 



CAPT. SHREVE AND THE CUT-OFFS. 

The snaggy condition of the Mississippi was such at the time 
that only three-fourths of the boats going down stream ever 
reached New Orleans, the others being shoaled or sunk on 
their way there. The losses were so heavy that the captains, 
pilots, and owners of river craft united in 1822 in a strong 
petition to Congress asking for the removal of snags. The 
petition received no attention for some 3^ears, but finally Con- 
gress recognized its obligations in the matter, and snag-boats 
were placed upon the river. Captain Shreve, who commanded 
the fleet, did good work. He invented a system of butting 
down the snags, and within a short time had cleared out the 
river. The work was one, however, that never had an end. 
New logs are constantly floating down, and the snagging branch 
of public service has ever since been fighting this danger, save 
during those few years when Congress failed to make an ap 
propriation for it. Captain Shreve, who was one of the 
earliest river experts, followed his good work in the way of 
snag removal by a very unfortunate act. At that time, the 
general idea of river improvements was to shorten the river — 
smooth out the wrinkles, as it were. With this idea in 
view he inaugurated his grand scheme by what is now known 
as Shreve's Cut-off, cutting off a bend, and thus shortening 
the Mississippi some 12 or 15 miles. The evil effects of this 
act are felt to the present day. The State of Louisiana en- 
deavored to offset it soon afterwards by making a second cut- 
off across Eaccourci Point. While these cut-offs did not affect 
the Mississii)pi itself seriously, the}' ruined the entrance to the 
Red, Ouachita, and Atchafalaya Rivers, and have caused the 
expenditure since of hundreds of thousands of dollars to set 
right this ill-advised attempt at river improvement. 

Cut-offs became fashionable, and all along the river attempts 
were made to divert it from its ordinary course. To such 
an extent was this carried in the mad scheme to improve the 
river in this wa}^ that the legislatures of Arkansas and Louis- 
iana declared it a felony to make an artificial cut-off of this 
kind . 

AVithin six years of the recognition by the Federal Govern- 
ment of its o})ligations to the river States in the way of at 
least removing the snags, Louisiana organized a similar service 
and assisted in the work, and Mississippi did something to- 
wards improving the navigation of those of its streams empty- 
ing into the Mississippi. Both States had received donations 
of lands from Congress for internal improvements, and the 



RIVER IMPROVEMENT CONVENTIONS. 313 

proceeds coming from the sale of these lands were expended 
equally in the construction of public roads and in river im- 
provement. 

This, however, was far from all that the river States desired 
in the matter, and an agitation was begun in favor of river, im- 
provement by the Federal Government. The subject was 
discussed in the Southern and Western press for some time, 
and finally culminated in a convention, one of the first of its 
kind in the country. 

MEMPHIS RIVER IMPROVEMENT CONVENTION, 1845. 

In 1845 the great river improvement convention met in the 
city of Memphis, or rather there were two conventions that 
year in that city. At the first six States were represented, at 
the second twelve States, with about 500 delegates, and the 
president no less a personage than Hon. John C. Calhoun. 
This was not called specifically in the interest of the Missis- 
sippi River, but of internal improvements generally. In 1847 
another river and harbor convention assembled at Chicao-o, at 
which were present many men who have since become noted 
in our country's history, as Abraham Lincoln, Charles Hemp- 
stead, Tom Corwin, Robert C. Schenck, Dudley Field, John 
C. Spencer, Horace Greeley, and many others. In 1851 a 
large convention was assembled at Burlington. Iowa, and was 
the initiative work in the improvement of the Rock Island and 
Des Moines Rapids of the ^lississi[)pi River. In 1866 another 
convention met at Dubuque, Iowa, and the following year 
witnessed another grand convention, and since that time there 
has scarcely a year passed that conventions have not been 
held at some of the principal cities in the valley of the 
Mississippi. 

The four principal improvements demanded for the river 
were : — 

( 1 ) The improvement of the passes so as to allow vessels 
of larger draught to reach New Orleans from the Gulf. 

(2) The improvement of the channel of the river so as to 
make it navigable at all seasons of the year, [)articularly that 
portion of the river lying between Saint Louis and New Or- 
leans, for which a depth of 8 feet is demanded. 

(3) The removal of obstructions in the river and its tribu- 
taries, as, for instance, the Rock Island Rapids, the falls in the 
Ohio opposite Louisville, the Raft in Red River, and similar 
obstructions to navigration. 

(4) The prevention of overflows by crevasses, floods, 



314 Gould's history of river navigation. 

and freshets, whereby the fertile alluvial lands lying on the 
banks of the river were injured and damaged, and the course 
of the river itself obstructed with bars, etc. 

These demands have all been more or less recognized ; in- 
deed, before the convention had met, the Federal Government 
had already recognized its obligations to the country in the 
removal of snags and obstructions, and had had its snag-boats at 
work for some years, and had spent some money in surveys 
at the mouth of the river and in attempts to remove the bars 
there. 

SHIFTING of the CHANNEL AT THE PASSES. 

The necessity for the improvement of the passes was ad- 
mitted from the earliest days. The French and Spanish Gov- 
ernments had worked at them on the system of stirring up the 
mud at the bottom. The United States followed with the 
same system, and the first work on the passes was an ingeni- 
ous but unsuccessful attempt to secure deeper water by dredg- 
ing with buckets, a plan recommended by the board of United 
States engineers. 

The Mississippi River, at its mouth, "is constantly changing 
and shifting. This is especially so of the jjasses. Since La 
Salle discovered the mouth of the river, two centuries ago, 
the deepest pass through which vessels plying to and from 
New Orleans have sailed, has changed no less than four times. 
In 1750 the Northeast Pass was the one chiefly in use. Since 
then Pass aLoutre, Southwest, and South Pass have been suc- 
cessively employed. 

In 1835 Congress appropriated $250,000 for the work, that 
being the first sum ever given by it for this improvement. A 
survey of the work and preparation for the dredging appara- 
tus, however, nearly exhausted the appropriation, and several 
years elapsed before anything more was attempted. 

The deepest mouth of the river at that time was Northeast 
Pass, which showed a depth of 12 feet of water, a depth 
whose inadequacy for the commercial needs of a near future 
was overlooked. Vessels built expressly for the carrying 
trade between New York and New Orleans did not, at that 
time, exceed 500 tons register. Surveys and re[)orts of the 
passes were made in 1829, 1837, 1839, 1849, and 1851. 
Shortly after the survey of 1837 Northeast Pass, then the 
chosen commercial channel of New Orleans, shoaled up; but 
Southwest Pass was found to answer present purpcses, being 
only less convenient of approach, and it continued to be used 
with tolerable facility until about 1850. Then the increasing 



CONTRACr rOK OPENING SOUTHW^EST PASS. 315 

draught of ships brought a new difficulty, and, " owing to 
pressing memorials of the citizens of New Orleans, Congress 
ordered an exploration of the region, and appropriated a large 
sum for the purpose of the deepenmg of the channel of the 
river." While various measures were being recommended, 
vessels of less than 1,000 tons were o-i'oundino; on the bar. 

In 1852 there were no less than forty ships aground on the 
bar from two days to eight weeks, many of them being com- 
pelled to lighter their goods, and some even to throw them 
overboard in order to get safely off the mud lumps. That 
year $75,000 was appropriated for the mouth of the river and 
a board of army otiicers appointed to suggest a proper plan 
of operations for increasing the depth of water on the bar. 

The system of stirring up the bottom and dredging the 
river was recommended by the board ; and, if that failed, the 
building of jetties at Southwest Pass 5 miles into the Gulf, 
and the closing of all the lateral outlets ; finally, should this 
fail, the digging of a ship canal at Fort 8t. Philip, or some 
other convenient point, from the river to deep water in the 
Gulf. The system of dredging, by stirring up the bottom, 
recommended by the board, was approved by the War De- 
partment and a contract was accordingly entered into for deepen- 
ing the South A^est Pass to 18 feet. The contract was successfully 
executed and a depth of 18 feet obtained in 1853. No fur- 
ther appropriation was made until 1856, when no trace of the 
former deepening of the channel was left. In that year 
$330,000 was appropriated for opening and keeping open, by 
contract, ship-channels through the bars at the mouths of 
Southwest Pass and Pass a Loutre A contract was awarded 
to Messrs. Craig & Righter for opening both passes 20 feet 
deep and 300 feet wide, and for maintaining that channel four 
and a half 3'ears. They constructed on the east side of South- 
west Pass a jetty about a mile long, which, with harrowing 
and dredging, deepened the channel to 18 feet, which depth 
was maintained during 1859 and 1860. The war then came 
on and the passes were neglected. In 1868 a system of dredg- 
ing wa^ again adopted by the government, and a steam-pro- 
peller dredge was constructed at a cost of $350,000 ; a short 
time afterward a second boat was built. These two boats 
worked for three years, but in 1873 the army engineers gave 
their opinion that this dre Iging could not maintain a depiu of 
18 feet. 

The great loss occasioned by the detention of vessels at the 
mouth of the river at last called forth such loud demands for 
the deepening of the passes from the most influential organi- 



316 Gould's history of river navigation. 

zations and men in the South and West that Congress, recog- 
nizingits responsibility, invited phms for the improvement of 
the mouth of the river. The two main phins suggested 
were : — 

(1) The construction of a sliip-caual from Fort St. Philip 
to the Gulf, asrecommended by the commission of army engi- 
neers that had examined the mouth of the river in 1857, 
which, it was estimated, would cost $13,000,000. 

(2) The building of jetties at the mouth of the river, asj'stem 
of removing bars that had been tried successfully in Europe 
in dee})ening the Danube, Vistula, Oder, Dwiua, and other im- 
portant rivers. 

THE EADS jetties. 

The jetty scheme was strongly advocated by Capt. James 
B. Eads, the great engineer, who had constructed the Saint 
Louis bridge, and had been engaged in other important engi- 
neering enterprises. 

different plans proposed. 

In February, 1874, Mr. Eads made a formal proposition to 
Congress to open the mouth of the Mississippi Kiver, by mak- 
ing and maintaining a channel 28 feet deep between the South- 
west Pass and the Gulf of Mexico for the sum of $10,000,000 
at the entire risk of himself and associates ; not a dollar was to 
be paid by the Government until a depth of 20 feet had been se- 
cured when he was to receive $1,000,000, and afterward 
$1,000,000 for each additional 2 feet, or a total of $5,000,000 
when 28 feet had been obtained. The remaining $5,000,000 
was to be paid in annual installments of $500,000 each, condi- 
tional on the permanence of the channel during the ten years. 
This proposition at tirst met with vigorous opposition and de- 
nunciation. 

When the matter was first submitted to Congress an appro- 
priation of $8,000,000 was made for the Fort St. Philip Canal, 
which passed the House by a good majority, while at the same 
time the jetty plan was defeated. In the Senate, however, the 
canal scheme was crushed, Mr. Ead's arguments before the 
Select Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard 
being so forcible that in the Senate the committee asked to be 
discharged from further consideration of the Fort St. Philip 
Canal bill, and to report as a substitute for it a bill authorizing 
the appointment by the President of a commission of seven 
engineers — three from the Army, three from civil life, and 
one from the United States Coast Survey — to whom this 



CONTRACT FOR BUILDING TUE JETTIES. 317 

quostion as to the proper method of opening the mouth of the 
river should be referred, with instructions to report at the next 
session of Congress. 

The report of this board was presented to Congress on Jan- 
uary 13, 1875, by the Secretary of War, audit proved favora- 
ble to the jetty plan, the board recommending its application 
to South Pass. Soon after the report, Mr Eads made a new 
proposition to Congress to make a channel 30 feet deep at the 
mouth of Southwest Pass. A bill embodying this proposition 
was presented to the House in February, 1875, and passed it 
ten days afterward. In the Senate, however, South Pass, as 
recommended by the board, was selected. The act became a 
law March 3, 1875. 

The terms were that Captain Eads was to obtain a channel 20 
feet deep and 200 feet wide at the bottom, in thirty months 
from the passage of the act, and having obtained such a chan- 
nel, he was to receive $500,000 for every additional 2 feet in 
depth, with corresponding widths at the bottom until a depth 
of 30 feet and a width of 350 at the bottom were obtained. 
He was to receive $500,000, with additional payments, for 
maintaining the channel. Up to that period the payments of 
the Government would amount to $4,250,000, with $1,000,000 
in addition, earned by Captain Eads, to be retained by the 
Government for a certain specified length of time as security 
that the jetties would maintain the channel secured. There 
was also a provision in the contract which gave Captain Eads 
$100,000 a year, for twenty years, for maintaining and keeping 
the jetty works in repair. 

The jetties extend from South Pass across the bar into the 
Gulf. The total length of the east jetty as constructed was 
12,100 feet, or nearly 2 1-3 miles; the west jetty terminates 
opposite the east jetty, but its total length is only about 1 1-2 
miles, the difference beino; due to the greater extension of the 
natural banks on the west side of the pass. Without entering 
into a detailed account of the method of constructing the 
jetties, their mode of structure may be briefly stated to be with 
willow mattresses laid in layers and weighted with stone, and 
on this foundation a concrete wall is built. After successfully 
surmountino; innumerable enn-ineering difficulties and embar- 
rassments of the most formidable character, Captain Eads 
achieved a glorious triumph in his great undertaking, and the 
jetties were practically completed in July, 1879. At the 
head of the passes a navigable channel 26 feet deep and 165 
feet wide was obtained and certified to July 10, 1879. Since 



318 Gould's history of river navigation. 

that date the semi-monthly surveys have shown constant in- 
crease both in depth and width. The bar at the head of South 
Pass, with only 14 feet of water over it, which lay like a for- 
midable dam in the entrance of the channel, was completely 
removed, and the depth of water in South Pass was made 
greater by 2 feet than that in the two larger passes on either 
side of it. At tiie mouth of South Pass the current, which in 
1875 struggled feebly against the frictional resistance of the 
bar that obstructed it, became, by the construction of the jet- 
ties, a strong and living force, which, attacking the obstacle in 
its way, swept it far into the great depths of the Gulf, and 
carved out lor itself a deep and wide channel more than equal 
to the wants of commerce. The minimum depths through the 
jetties at various dates since 1875 to date clearly indicate the 
efficacy of the scouring process caused by the jetties. In 
June, 1875, the water was 10.2 feet. In 1876 its greatest 
depth was 23.5 feet in August; its least depth was 21.0 in 
May. In 1877 it reached 24.2 from October 25 to December 
14; its least depth was 22.0 in INIarch. In 1878 it Avas 27.1 
feet in December and 25.4 in March. In 1879 it was 31.7 
feet in December and 27.0 in March. In 1880 the depths 
were, June, 31.4; July, 30.8 ; August, 32.0; September, 30.6; 
October, 30.3; November, 30.8; December, 30.8. In 1881 
the greatest depth was 33.8 feet in January, and its least 30.4 
feet in November. In 1882 it was deepest in September, be- 
ing 31.9 feet; its least was 30.5 in February, and 30.5 in 
April. In 8183 the greatest depth was 33.4 in June ; its least, 
30.2 in January. 

Since then the jetties have been put to the severest tests. 
In 1883 the English cable ship, the Silvprtoivn, put to sea with 
the largest cargo ever leaving New Orleans: 10,618 bales of 
cotton, 319 tons of ore. 24,193 bushels of grain, 10,750 staves, 
1,000 tons of coal, and 275 of water ballast: a total of 5,020 
tons, the vessel drawing 25 feet 4 inches. The City of New 
York also went through, drawing 25 feet 10 inches. She was 
a comparatively narrow ship, whereas the iSilvertoion had an 
enormous breadth of beam and was nearly as broad at the bot- 
tom as at the top, being almost Hat-bottomed. The saving to 
the people of New Orleans and the Mississippi Valley by rea- 
son of the establishment of the Eads jetties, was plainly shown 
by Hon. Joseph H. Burrows, of Missouri, in a speech on the 
improvement of the Mississippi River, in which he stated that 
the transportation rates on a bushel of wheat shipped from 
•the center of the Valley, at Saint Louis by river to the sea- 



DEI'TII OF WATKft IN TIIK .JP:TTIE8. 



319 



board at New Orleans during the three years 1877, 1878, and 
1871), ranged all the way from 10 to 15 cents less than by rail 
to the seaboard at New York. That, owing to the jetties, 
half of the total grain produced in the 14 Valley States could 
be shipped from Saint Louis to New Orleans, instead of by rail 
to New York, with an annual saving to the seaboard at 10 
cents per bushel, which would be $90,381,552, and at 15 
cents per bushel, $135,572,328. 

The following table is taken from the annual report of Major 
Ileuer, engineer in charge of the jetti<?8, and gives the lowest 
<iepth and width of the 2f>-foot and 30-foot cFiannels through 
the jetties, according to surveys made in May and Juae, 1887, 
respectively: — 



Distauces from east point in feet. 



Month. 



1 :May.... 
/'.June ... 
1 May.... 
J June ... 



to 2,000 

2,000 to 4,000 

^.'^00 to 6,000 VS::: 

■6,000 to 8,000 

8,000 to 10,000 

10,000 to 12,000 



1 May. 
j .June 

lay. 

lue 
1 May. 
/ June 



i Ma 
j Jul 



Least width for — 



30 feet. 



180 
190 
320 
280 
320 
330 
210 
210 
210 
1.30 
230 
190 



2(; feet. 



330 
350 
370 
330 
390 
380 
290 
280 
290 
250 
300 
270 



Least 
depth. 



39.4 
39.0 
35.3 
35.4 
.37.1 
.37.5 
31.2 
32.3 
34.2 
34.1 
38.1 
35.2 



Beyond the ends of the jetties there is a central depth of 30 
feet on a direct course from the ends of the jetties to the sea; 
the 26-foot channel^is 210 feet wide and the 30-foot channel 
60 feet wide. 

At the head of South Pass, that is from the main river into 
South Pass, there is a central depth of 29 feet, and the 26- 
foot channel is very wide. 

Above Goat Island the central depth is 29 feet, and the 26- 
foot channel is 380 feet wide. 

Near Grand Bayou the central depth is 28 feet, and the 26- 
foot channel is 200 feet wide. 



320 



GOULD S HISTORY OF EIVER NAVIGATION. 



EXPENDITURES AT THE PASSES. 



The following are the expenditures at various times of the 
Government on the improvement and deepening of the passes, 
other than the contract with Captain Eads for the jetties: — 



Year. 



1829. 
1830. 
1837. 
1850. 
1852. 
1852. 
1856. 
1866. 
1867. 
18G8. 
1869. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879. 
1880. 
1881. 



Total. 



Total, 



For what expended. 



Survey 

Increasing depth 

Removal of obstructions 

Survey 

do 

Opening ship canal 

Improvement of South Pass and Pass a I'Outre. 

Improving mouth of river 

do 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



Improving mouth of river and survey. 

Improving mouth of river 

Improving mouth of river and survey. 

dp 

Survey 

do 

do 

do 



Expended by the Government for the construc- 
tion of the jetties under the contract with 
Capt. James B. Eads 



Amount. 



5 500 

75,000 

120,000 

50,000 

50,000 

75,000 

330,000 

75,000 

200,000 

50,000 

85,181 

300,000 

125,000 

155,000 

125,000 

85,000 

250,000 

115,000 

12,000 

15,000 

24,000 

10,000 

10,000 



^2,526,681 



5,950,000 



5,476,681 



MISSISSIPPI RIVER IMPROVEMENTS. 

In respect to the improvement of the Mississippi River for 
purposes of navigation, little or anything was done save at the 
mouth before 1878. This vras due to two reasons — be- 
cause the Government did not fully recognize its obligations in 
the matter, and because the removal of snags and obstructions 
was deemed sufficient improvement. The first work under- 
taken on the Mississippi was on the upper course of that 
stream at the Des Moines. 

In ISGS Congress made an appropriation of $40,000 for the 
removal of obstructions in the Mississippi Kiver. It had pre- 
viously set aside $3,352,040 for the snag-boats employed in 



EXPENDITURES ON HARBORS EACH YEAR. 321 

service on the Western waters. This service was not confined 
to the Mississippi alone, however, but included work on its 
leading tributaries — the Ohio, Missouri, Red, and Arkansas. 
About 40 per cent., or $1,340,800, may be counted on as 
having been expended on the Mississippi below Memphis, 
which, with the special appropriation of $40,000 in 1868, 
makes the total for the removal of snags in that river $1,380,- 
800 up to 1879. Since 1879 the expenditures on the snag-boats 
on the Mississippi and Missouri have been $495,349.77. Al- 
lowing 50 per cent, for the Mississippi, it gives $247,674.88 
as the snag expenditures since 1879. 

In 1878 the river and harbor bill included a number of items 
for river improvements, mainly at the harbors of the chief 
towns. 

Memphis harbor received $ 8,300 

Vicksburg 134,000 

New Orleans 110,000 

The mouth of Eed River 190,000 

In 1880 the appropriations were: — 

Memphis harbor $15,000 

Vicksbura: 20,'000 

Natchez and Vidalia 40,000 

New Orleans 76,000 

In 1881, the following: — 

Memphis 15,000 

Vicksburg 75,000 

Natchez 50,000 

New Orleans 75 OOO 

The Passes 10,000 

The following are the amounts expended on the improve- 
ment of the Mississippi previous to the creation of the River 
Commission: — 
Years. For what expended. Amount. 

1871 Gauging '..7..^. $ 5,000 

] 874 Improvement of the alluvial basin • 25,000 

1776'-78-'79 Gauging 15,000 

1878-'79 Protection of harbor of Memphis 83,000 

1878-'79 Protection of harbor of Vicksburg 134^000 

1878-'79 Protection of harbor of New Orleans 110,000 

1880 Harbor of Memphis 15,000 

1880 Harbor of Vicksburg 20,000 

1880 Harbor of Natchez and Vidalia 40,000 

1880 Harbor of New Orleans 75,000 

1881 Harbor of Memphis 15,000 

1881 Harbor of Vicksburg 75,000 

1881 Harbor of Natchez 50,000 

1881 Harbor of New Orleans 75,000 

Total Expended on river improvements previous to river , 

commission, except on passes and removal of snags $737,000 

21 



322 Gould's history of river navigation. 



MISSISSIPPI RIVER commission. 

In the meanwhile in 1879 Congress had passed the bill 
creating the Mississippi River Commission, of seven members, 
to suggest a plan for the general improvement of the river 
and to control and supervise the work done. Under that body 
the work has since been systematically carried on with much 
larger appropriations than formerly. The following are the 
amounts voted by Congress at different times to the improve- 
ment of the river under the Commission : 

1881 $ 1,000.000 

1882 4, 123, 000 

1 883 1,000,000 

1884 2,065,000 

1886 1, '(94, 057 

Total ^10,477,855 

Of this there has been expended for channel work, as dis- 
tinguished from levees, the following amounts: — 

Location. Amount. 

Memphis harbor $ 615,077 

Helena reach 8,000 

Choctaw reach , 2,68o 

Repairs to plant 30,000 

Greenville harbor 37,500 

Vicksburg harbor 197,819 

Lake Providence reach 2,415,902 

Natchez and Vidalia harbors 8,253 

Red and Atchafalaya Rivers 316,717 

New Orleans harbor 233,195 

Cubit's Gap 137 

General service 114,259 

Total .^3,979,539 

The following is the levee work done in the same district 
by States : — 

Tennessee: Lauderdale. 

Mississippi : Tunica and Coahoma ; Bolivar Riverton ; 
Bolivar Hughes; Washington and Issequena; Ben Lemond. 

Arkansas: Mississippi, Long Lake, Philips, 'Possum Fork. 

Louisiana: East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, and Concordia; 
general protection of Tensas Basin ; Point Coupee Morganza; 
general protection Atchafalaya Basin ; Bonnet Carre. 

The apportionment among the several States was as fol- 
lows: — 

Tennessee $ 100,000 

Mississippi 624,678 

Arkansas 404,561 

Louisiana 1,342,810 

Total .$2,472,049 

Total amount expended by river commission between Mem- 
phis and Gulf $6,451,588 



EARLY RIVER IMPROVEMENT. 323 

LOUISIANA AND RIVER IMPROVEMENTS. 

Among the river States, Louisiana has led by a long 
•distance in the matter of river improvement. This was due 
largely to the fact that it was first settled, and was most de- 
pendent upon keeping open its water-courses. The settlements 
in Louisiana were almost altogether upon the streams. To 
secure, therefore, communication with markets, it was 
necessary to keep the interior rivers and ba^^ous free from 
^snao•s and other obstructions. 

Louisiana, in consequence, expended more upon its levees 
and river improvements than all the other lower Mississippi 
States. There were some improvements attempted under the 
French and Spanish governments, especially at the passes, as 
already narrated. In 1814 the dike across Bayou Manchac 
was constructed to cut off that outlet. 

In the early days of the State a large amount of work was 
done, but mainly by private individuals, the steamboat men 
and keel-boat men. The Mississippi and all its tributaries 
were at that time filled with logs and snag-s, and navigation 
Tendered dangerous thereby. These obstructions the steam- 
boat men gradually removed themselves, opening most of the 
-streams. There are, of course, no figures attainable of the 
cost of this work. If, however, the work done in the way of 
removing the rafts, logs, and snags be estimated on the basis 
of that subsequently undertaken by the State boards of works 
.and State engineers the expense of river improvement between 
1800 and 1815 was from $12,000 to $15,000 a year; and from 
1815 (when the steamboats began running) until 1833 from 
$25,000 to $30,000, or $490,000 for the whole period. This, 
Jiowever, is merely an estimate of its cost based on the work 
subsequently done by the State. 

After 1833 the statistics are reliable and authentic as the 
board of public works and the various other boards carrying 
on the interior improvements upon which the State had 
entered, were required each year to present full itemized re- 
ports to the legislature. These reports give the various works 
under way and their cost. The great aim of the State gov- 
ernment at that time was to give all portions of Louisiana a 
route to market, which was done partly by the improvement of 
the interior water-ways and partly by means of public roads. 

In 1833 the legislature of Louisiana organized the board of 
public works, for the improvement of the State and particularly 
for cleaning out the streams, removal of snags and logs and 
-other obstructions. The first work undertaken was the re- 



324 Gould's history of river navigation. 

moval of the rafts obstructing the Atchafalaya and Grand 
Rivers, and Bayou Sorrel, in order to open the navigation 
through these streams to the Attakapas. 

WORK AT MOUTH Or RED RIVER. 

It became, at the same time, necessary to improve the 
mouth of Red River and the connection between that stream 
and the iMississippi, which had been injuriously affected by the 
cut-off made near its mouth by Captain Shreve, on behalf of 
the United States, in 1831. 

The board worked zealously at these two enterprises, 
making, however, little progress with them, and fifteen years 
afterwards, complaint was still made about the raft in the 
Atchafalaya and its obstruction to navigation. The opening 
of that stream moreover had an unfavorable effect on the 
mouth of Red River. When the raft was partly broken and 
removed the increased current velocity of the Atchafalaya soon 
washed out the light deposits in the channel, and it was thus 
able to carry off a large volume of the Red River and divert 
that stream from the Mississippi. 

The board of public works had complete charge of all the 
public improvements going on in the State, the income being 
derived from the public improvement fund, obtained from, 
the sale of lands granted Louisiana for its internal improve- 
ment. The work done was confined mainly to river improve- 
ment, the removal of rafts, dredging of the streams to give 
them greater depth, and construction of canals to give inter- 
course between navigable rivers. The board had three boats 
in the field, with crews of sixty men, and occasionally chartered 
other vessels. The operations for the year 1840 show work 
done on the Atchafalaya and Bayou Plaquemines, on Ba3'ous 
Bonfouca, Packet, Manchac Pass, which was opened; Bayou. 
Plaquemines opened to the iMississippi, where works were con- 
structed to prevent the logs from drifting and causing the- 
Atchafalaya raft; on Bayou Boeuf, opened to Prairie Jefferson ; 
Tensas, to Bayou Roundaway; JNIacon, throughout Bayous 
Bartholomew, Des Glaizes, and Courtableau. The United 
States had undertaken the removal of the obstruction in the 
navigation of the Red River, near Alexandria, known as the 
" Rapids," or Falls. Loiusiaua also made an appropriation 
for this purpose, and an arrangement was made with the 
United States contractor to cany on the improvements under 
the State specifications for slightly Jess than the legislature 
had appropriated for this purpose. 

The work was done mainly with slaves owned by the board 
of works. A few convicts were employed, but were not found 



DAMAGE DONE BY THE CUT-OFFS. 325 

satisfactory. The expense for labor, therefore, was small. 
The total expenditures for the year were $54,895.54. Of 
this, $5,000 was expended to Bayou Courtableau under a 
special appropriation of the legislature. All but $1,017 was 
expended on the Mississippi or tributary streams. The cost 
of the works at the junction of Bayou Plaquemines and the 
Mississippi to prevent the deflection of logs was $2,080. The 
floating boom proved to be of only temparary benefit and the 
State found it necessary each year to remove the logs gathered 
at the mouth of the bayou and to make changes and additions 
to the boom. 

In 1846 the State had at work three boats and 114 men. It 
purchased that year a snag-boat and a dredging machine. 
The total expenditure, aside from work on the levees, that is 
the amount spent for the direct improvement of streams, the 
dredging of channels and removal of snags, $62,(368. It 
ranged from $50,000 to $85,000 a year for the next ten years. 

The Slate board of works continued actively on river im- 
provement until the war broke out, with from three to six 
boats and from 50 to 150 men, most of them slaves, the prin- 
cipal work being done in Bayous Tensas, Grosse Tete, Court- 
ableau, Macon, and the Mississippi, Red, Grand, and Atchafa- 
laya Rivers. In 1847, under a special act of the legislature, 
a contract was made by the State with a Mr. Hoard to cut a 
canal across the Raccourci Bend, and thus cause a cut-off in 
the Mississippi River at that point. At that time great con- 
fidence was felt in cut-offs, and it was proposed in this way 
to straighten the river and reduce its length, and thus do away 
with levees. And as ('aptain Shreve had made his cut-off 
near the mouth of Red River for the United States so Mr. 
Hoard developed Raccourci Cut-off in the immediate neighbor- 
hood for the State of Louisiana. The work was done in 
defiance of the advice of the State engineer and cost $12,000. 
It consisted simply of a canal cut across the head of the Rac- 
courci isthmus, through which the river poured, and in a 
very short time found its way, leaving its old bed a lake. It 
is now admitted that Louisiana made a g-rave mistake here. 
Instead of lowering the level of the river, as expected, it 
raised it, and the parish of Pointe Coupee below has suffered 
severely in consequence of these cut-offs, and has been com- 
pelled to raise its levees several feet until they are now the 
highest in Louisiana. Another effect of this work was to 
close up Old River, the coimection between the Red and the 
Mississippi. This followed immediately after the making of 
Raccourci Cut-off, and in consequence of it and the removal 
of the raft in the Atchafalaya. 



326 Gould's history of river navigation. 



SWAMP LANDS DONATED BY THE GOVERNMENT. 

The unsettled condition of a large portion of Louisiana and' 
the immense number of logs and snags floating down the Mis- 
sissippi from the new settlements being made above rendered 
it absolutely necessary to keep up this work of improvement. 
Thus, we find that the raft in the Atchafalaya and Grand 
Rivers and at the junction of Baj^ou Plaquemines and the 
Mississippi re-formed each year and had to be removed. Al- 
though the work of improvement was under the control of the 
State board of works and the State engineer, it was really 
directed by the legislature, which provided that such and such 
Btreams should be improved or cleaned, in much the same 
manner as Congress directs the United States engineers to- 
day. The legislature passed, for instance, in the six years 
between 1847 and 1853, no less than 132 different acts in re- 
gard to river improvement and affecting the State engineer 
and board of w'orks, and providing for the cleaning out and 
improvement of streams aggregating over 5,000 miles in 
length. 

In 1852 commissioners were appointed and money appropri- 
ated by the legislature for the removal of the falls in lied 
River. The work was let out, but nothing was accomplished 
nor did a second appropriation bring any permanent good, 
and the reports declared a lock absolutely necessary there. 
[The falls have since been removed by the United States.] 

The donations made by the United States to the State of 
Louisiana in 1841) of all the swamp lands within its limits, to 
be used for the redemption of these lands, led to a great 
activity in levee building and in the improvement of the 
streams. The State was divided into four districts, in each 
of which was a commission in charge of the management of 
the swamp lands and of the various improvements going on 
there. The work undertaken was of a colossal character, and 
inckided the building of levees, the digging of canals, drain- 
age of the swamp lands, and improvement of the streams. 
Most of the works undertaken were ordered by the legislature. 
Some idea of the magnitude of these operations may be 
arrived at by the fact in a single district, the second, in one 
year, appropriations aggregating $352,500 were made out of 
this swamp fund. It is true that the works cost less than the 
appropriations and that there was a handsome balance left to 
the credit of the fund, but the activity shown in public im- 
provements may be imagined from this total. The bulk of 
the work done, however, was the building of levees and the 



RUNAWAY SLAVES EMPLOYED ON IMPROVEMENTS. 327 

digging of canals, not so much for the improvement of navi- 
gation as for the redemption of the swamp land by properly 
draining it. The work of river improvement by the State 
continued actively through all this period. 

In 1854, notwithstanding what had been already done in the 
improvement of the Atchafalaya, the legislature found it nec- 
essary to let the work of cleaning out that stream by contract, 
the price paid being $15,000. 

In 1855 Louisiana undertook the improvement of the 
Ouachita, expending for that purpose $8,935, without secur- 
ing any benefit therefrom beyond a survey of the river. The 
special report on this subject calls attention to the increased 
danger of obstruction at the mouth of Red River, which en- 
titled it, the report declared, to the constant service of a dredge 
boat at each high water, " since it is justly apprehended that 
at any season when the Red River shall have no rise subse- 
quent to a rise in the Mississippi, the channel into it will most 
probably be barred up." 

A timely warning this, for no other point on the Mississippi 
has given more trouble to the United States and Louisiana 
engineers than this. 

in 1856 the State force at work included three snag-boats, 
two dredge-boats, and 95 slaves. The State engineers were 
also allowed to use, for the space of a year, all the runaway 
slaves in the Baton Rouge depot. The work to which this 
force was principally devoted was the cleaning out and im- 
provement of the Atchafalaya, the removal of the falls in Red 
River opposite Alexandria, and keepmg open the mouth of 
Red River where it joins the Mississippi. Innumerable plans 
were suggested for these several improvements, dams, locks, etc. 

In 1859 the State appropriated $35,000 for Old River and 
the mouth of Red River, which had by this time become a 
chronic nuisance. Frequent appropriations had been made for 
this work — indeed, scarcely a»year passed without it having^ 
been attended to and dredged ; but the river was kept open 
in this way only a short time, and each report closes with the 
statement that the improvement secured was only temporary. 
On this point and the Atchafalaya, the bulk of the State river 
improvement fund was expended. In 1860 the State finally 
came to the conclusion that the only way by which the connec- 
tion could be maintained between the Red and the Mississippi 
was by constructing a dam or sill over the mouth of the Atcha- 
falaya where it joins Old River — the plan proposed by the 
Mississippi River Commission to-day. This work was ordered 
by an act of the legislature in 1860, but interrupted by the 



328 Gould's history of river navigation. 

war. The cost was estimated at $990,000. Another plan 
proposed at the time was the closing of Bayou Plaquemines 
(since done) and its connection with the Mississippi by way 
of locks (reported on favoraly by the United States engineers) 
the cost of which was estimated at $22(),000. 

In 18(!0 the appropriation required for the execution of the 
several works, based upon the surveys called for under spec- 
ial acts of the legislature or under general order from the 
board of public works amounted to $1,288,765. Acts were 
passed by the legislature approving nearly all these sc'.iemes 
of improvement, and there is little reason to doubt that they 
would have been undertaken had not the war called a halt. 
None of them, however, were even begun ; and during the few 
mouths intervening before the declaration of hostilities, the 
board of work confined its attention wholly to levees. 

It is difficult to arrive at the amount expended by the State 
of Louisiana during this period for improvement. The appro- 
priations of the legislature are far above the actual amount 
expended, running up some years to $500,000 and $600,000. 
The expenditures of the State board of works. State engineers, 
and the commissioners of the four swamp-lands districts were 
for the improvement of navigation, of drainage, for the open- 
ing of rivers, removal of snags, construction of levees and 
canals, and even of roads, and these are always very much 
mixed up with each other. It is possible, however, to disen- 
tangle them, but only by going over the expenditures item by 
item. The work was done mainly by negro slaves, the cost 
of whom was an important item, the slaves used for the dredg- 
ing and snagging boats having cost the board of works no 
less than $275,500. In each report there is a demand for 
more slaves, and a request made that the State vote $250,000 
for the })urchase of extra negroes for this work. The engineer 
estimated in his report that the work could be done by slave 
labor at half the cost of free \j'hites. In the following tables 
below, therefore, the estimates of the actual value of the im- 
provements ought to bedoulded — that is the work done is twice 
as much as the money value represents. In this cost is imiliided 
the negro slaves })urchased, as well as the dredge and snag- 
boats, lumber, and other expenses. These and the salaries of 
the State engineers and the actual cost of subsistence of the 
slaves employed on government work were the sole expenses, 
for there were no wages paid to hands. For a short period, 
the negro prisoners in the penitentiary were used in the 
State improvement works, but they were not found satis- 
factory. Later, the runaway slaves impounded at Baton 



EXPENDED DIFFERENT YEARS FROM 1833 TO 1861. 329 

IxougG were required to labor twelve months on the ojovern- 
ment works before they were sold. 

The following shows the amount expended by the State of 
Louisiana, or its districts for divisions, for the improvement 
of the navigation of the Mississippi and its immediate tribu- 
taries, aside from the amounts expended for levees, dikes, etc., 
and represents the expenditures for dredging the stream, re- 
moving rafts, logs, sawyers, and snags, for booms, dams, and 
other constructions to regulate the outpour of the river, for 
cleaning outlets, and in general for all works intended directly 
and immediately for the improvement of the navigation of the 
Mississippi and its tributaries, not inckiding any amount ex- 
pended for levees, for the protection of land from overflow, or 
for any other drainage purposes. 

EXPENDITURES FOR RIVER IMPROVEMENT BY LOUISIANA. 

1833 to 1840 $445,724 

1840 to 1845 302,120 

1845 to 1850 317,472 

1850 to 1855 212,264 

1855 to 1861 377,120 

Total $1,654,700 

The amount expended during this period for river improve- 
ments by the parishes and private individuals was small, as the 
State boats went from stream to stream, clearing away all 
obstructions. Only an estimate can be made of these expenses, 
as about $(30,00(j, or a little more than $2,000 a year. 
There has, indeed, been scarcely a year when the steamboats 
have not done something towards river improvement, and they 
estimate their expenditures or time for this purpose, even to- 
day, when the Federal Government has taken charge of the 
rivers at $5,000 annually. 

The war that followed interrupted all State work except a 
little leveeinii here and there. Nothino; was done towards the 
improvement of the Mississippi and its tributaries; indeed, 
the aim was rather to close the streams and render them inac- 
cessible to the Federal gunboats than to keep them o()en. 

In 1865, immediately after peace came, an important work 
was undertaken by the parish of Iberville and the planters of 
the immediate neighborhood in the closing of Bayou Plaque- 
mines. This had alwaj'^s been a troublesome point on the 
Mississippi, and as early as 1840 the State engineers had taken 
it in charge, for here the logs drifted from the Mississippi, 
interfering with its navigation and tilling up the Atchafalaya 
with a raft. The river showed, moreover, a disposition to 
cut in here, and it was deemed necessary both in the interest 



330 Gould's history of river navigation. 

of its navigation and the protection of the interior country, to> 
close this navigable stream. An attempt was made by the 
State engineers some eight years later to reopen it, but they 
were forcibly driven from the field by the people of Iberville. 
A survey has since been made by the United States engi- 
neers looking to the reopening of the bayou with a lock. 

A NEW POLICY. 

With peace, the State did not return to the river improve- 
ment works it had on hand when the war broke out. Both 
the levee board and the board of public works (recreated in 
18G8) confined themselves almost wholly to levees. The 
United States had fully undertaken the work of removing the 
snags and obstructions which had previously constituted so 
large an element of the work done by the State in improving 
the navigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries. The only 
river iujprovements in which Louisiana interested itself were 
at the head of the Atchafalaya, at Old River, giving the Red 
entrance to the Mississippi and the Red River Falls. For Old 
River an appropriation of $64,000 was made in 1869, but the 
contract became involved in litigation and another contract 
was subsequently made. In 1869 the improvement of the 
navigation of the Teche was begun with a series of dams and 
locks, but after the expenditure of a large sum it was aban- 
doned in toio. An attempt was also made to cause a new cut- 
off in the Mississippi at Waterproof, but without success. 

The recognition by the Federal Government about this time 
of the importance and duty of interior river improvement and 
the appropriations for the chief rivers of Louisiana, in the 
river. and harbor bill, did away with the State work. The 
only State river improvement or expenditures since have been 
the construction of a dam across Ton'es Bayou in Red River, 
which work was afterwards, taken up by the Federal Govern- 
ment, and the improvement of Old River, connecting the Mis- 
sissippi, Red, and Atchafalaya. The last work undertaken by 
Louisiana was in 1877. Dissatisfied with Avhat the Federal 
Government had done at the mouth of the Red River, and in 
deference to the requests of the steamboat people who found 
themselves cut off irom the Red, Ouachita and other slr.'ams, 
the legislature voted $20,000 for the improvement of naviga- 
tion at Old River. Ihe work was undertaken by the State 
engineers, assistance being given by the steamboats engaged 
in the Red River trade ; and at the expense of $7,220, the 
river was opened to navigation. 

Since then, the State has done nothing save in the work of 



TABLE GIVING ESTIMATES FOR THIS CENTURY. 331 

leveeing and draining. A considerable amount, however, has 
been expended by private citizens, principally by the steam- 
boat men, to improve the navigation of the Red at Old River 
and the Falls at Little Devil's Bar, on the Courtableau, a trib- 
tary of the Atchafalaya. This cost, however, has been mainly 
in labor in the use of boats and men rather than in materials, 
audit is somewhat difficult to estimate it exactly. It can only 
be done on the basis of time consumed and men employed on 
the work. The expenditures from 1865 to 1887 for river im- 
provement other than levees, has been $168,220 for the State 
and $115,500 for the parishes, planters, citizens, and steam- 
boatmen, or a total of $283,720. During the greater portion 
of this period, the work of river improvement, snagging the 
river, was carried on by the United States engineers, and the 
State thus relieved from all except levee work. 

The following table gives the amounts expended by the 
State or Territory of Louisiana in the improvement of its 
streams during the present century. It is restricted entirely 
to the improvements made for purpose of navigation, and in- 
cludes none of the numerous works undertaken for drainage 
purposes, or for the protection of land from overflow or the 
redemption of swamp lands; and it is further restricted to the 
Mississippi and its immediate tributaries, which more or less 
affect it — the connection between the Red and " the Father 
of Waters," and the Atchafalaya, which plays so important a 
part in the improvement of the Mississippi: — 

Estimated work done mainly by private individuals, steamboats, 
flit and keel-boats, with some assistance from the planters, 
1803 to 1833 $490,000 

W^ork done mainly by State and districts under boards of public 

works, engineers, etc., 1833 to 1861 1,714,700 

Work done by State, pirishes, and private individuals, mainly 

steamboatmen, 18G1 to 1888 287,220 

Total $2,491,920 

As near as it can be divided these expenditures were: — 

By State $1,826,235 

By parishes, towns, and districts 205,285 

By private individuals, companies, steamboats and others 460,400 

Total $ 2,491,920 

The five chief items in this total were: — 

Dredging the mouth of the Mississippi. 

Dredging and improving the connection of the Red and 
Mississippi, and the Atchafalaya. 

Removing the Plaquemines and Atchafalaya raft, a workoa 
which the State was engaged for nearly twenty years. 

Removing snags and obstructions. 



332 Gould's history of river navigation. 

It is safe to say that three-fourths of this sum went for the 
specific purposes. 

APPROPRIATIONS BY THE SPANISH AND FRENCH. 

There are no records wliatever of the expenditures for river 
improvement previous to the American dominion, ahhough 
^several references are made in the history of Louisiana to 
work done, particuLarly at the mouth of the river. Judging 
by the experience in later years, it would be safe to put the 
expense of the work at the passes under the Spanish and 
French Governments at $200,000. Of the other improve- 
ments, such as clearing away snags, there are no records what- 
ever. 

The other two lower river States have done little in the 
way of river improvement as compared with Louisiana. They 
were both settled many years afterwards, at a time when the 
Government recognized its obligation in the matter of the re- 
moval of snags. The State of Mississippi co-operated to a 
certain extent with Louisiana in the improvement of certain 
streams in which they were jointly interested, notably the Mis- 
sissippi and the Pearl. Some work was done in tlie matter of 
snagging, but this was mainly by private individuals, by the 
planters and steamboat men. Latterly, the town of Green- 
ville has expended large sums for the purpose or holding the 
river bank there, a matter of equal importance to the town 
and to the maintenance of the river and the improvements of 
its channel. The Mississippi has been eating away the banks 
at Greenville for some time, destro^nng the front of the town. 
For over ten years the constant caving has destroyed the per- 
manent value of real estate, 1,200 feet of valuable property 
having been swallowed up by the river. The Mississippi River 
Commission appropriated $37,500 to hold the bank at Green- 
ville, legarding that as essential to the plan of river improve- 
ment it is carrying on. The appropriation was supplemented 
by the people of Greenville, who contributed $50,000 towards 
the work in the way of bonds. A survey was made and work 
begun in September, 1887." 

COST OF REPAIRS. 

The total sum expended by the General Government from 
March 4, 1789, to June 30, 1886 (a period of ninety-seven 
years), in the improvement of the Mississippi and its forty- 
four naviijable tributaries, was in round numbers about 
$51,000,000. 

The expenditures by rivers, com[)iled and re-arranged from 



EXPENDED ON DIFFERENT RIVERS. 333 

the official reports of the Treasury Department, are as 

follows: — 

Name. Amount. 

Mississippi $29, 785, 6(!6 

Ohio 5,048,348 

Missouri 2,8t)6,9()5 

Teunesssee 2,816,45(> 

Kanawlia 1,749,000 

Red 1,443,793 

Illinois 1,161,000 

Cumberland 722,479 

Kentucky 709,998 

Wabash 487,500 

Arkansas 420,07(5 

Monongahela 303,600 

Ouachita 290,000 

Osage 189,994: 

CONSTRUCTION BY NATURE. 

The next important consideration in a transportation line is 
the cost of construction. Railway stockholders expect divi- 
dends, and if their roads be extravagantly built the burden is 
soon shifted to the shoulders of the producer and consumer 
along the wa\' in the shape of excessive rates. Even if rightly 
located and cheaply built, railroads represent enormous capi- 
tal when contrasted with rivers made by nature at no expense 
to the people. 

The 16,090 miles of navigable water-ways which constitute 
the commercial part of the Mississippi River S3'stem were con- 
structed and presented by nature at no cost to the people. 
But they are just as valuable as if artificially built. They are 
the nation's property, and should, like its military roads, its 
custom-houses, post-offices, and other property, be kept in re- 
pair. Congress is the board of management for this purpose, 
and should, in guarding the people's transportation property, 
exercise the same skill and observe the same laws of economy 
as railway directors who are chosen to manage the railway 
lines owned by individual stockholders. 

COMMERCIAL VALUE. 

There were, during the census year 1880, 87,782 miles of 
railways in operation in the United States, built at a total cost, 
for construction, of $4,112,367,176 or an average of $46,848 
per mile. 

Now, in view of the facts and figures showing the superior 
and economical location of the Mississippi and its navigable 
tributaries, their wonderful commercial capacity, their facili- 



334 Gould's history of kivkk navigation. 

ties for cheap transportation, the enormous annual products 
of the twenty-one States and Territories intersected, and the 
colossal proportions of their internal commerce, it may not 
be unreasonable to estimate their actual commercial value as 
follows : — 

money value oi' western rivers. 

The Lower Mississippi, from St. Louis to the Gulf, at 
$468,480 per mile, or ten times the average cost per mile of 
the railways of the United States. 

The Upper Mississippi, from St. Louis to St. Anthony's 
Falls, at $327, 9o() per mile, or seven times that of the average 
railway. 

The Ohio, from its mou.th to Pittsburgh, the Missouri, from 
its mouth to Sioux City, the Red River, from its mouth to 
Shreveport, and the Cumberland, from its mouth to Nashville, 
at $'234,240 per mile, or live times that of the average 
railway. 

The remaining navigable tributaries of the Mississippi at 
$46,848 per mile, or the same as that of the average railway. 

We have then a total valuation as follows : — 

The Lower Mississippi, from St. Louis to the Gulf 

(1,S52 mikvs) ^633,887,664 

The Upper Mississsippi, from St. Louis to St. Autliony's Ealls 

(800 miles) 265,300,224 

The Ohio, from its mouth to Pittsbursh (1,021 miles) 23'.>, 150,040 

The Missouri, from its mouth to Sioux City (1,019 miles)... 238,600,560 

The Ked, from its mouth to Slireveport (456 miles) 106,813,440 

The Cumberlaud, from its mouth to Nashville (200 miles).... 48,956,160 
The remainiuii uavii>;able tributaries of the Mississippi 

(10,774 miles) .^ 522,542,592 

Total value $2,054,849,680 

In other words, the people of the LTnited States have in the 
Mississippi and its forty-four navigable tributaries, highways 
of commerce and cheap transportation to the seaboard to the 
enormous value of $2,000,000,000. This property was a 
present from nature. The question naturally arises, will 
they manage it on business principles and keep it in an ade- 
quate state of repairs ? 

the levees. 

" The delta or alluvial lands of the Mississippi are subject 
to overflow unless protected by dikes or levees, the name 
originally given to these embankments of earth by the French 
or Creole settlers of Louisiana. This delta includes portions of 
seven States — Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ar- 



feWAMl' LAMJ8 IN DIFFEKENT 8TATE8. 335 

tansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It is calciilat«;d by the 
Mississippi River Commission to contain 29,790 square miles 
or 19,065,600 acrea, as follows: — 

LComplied from the Alluvial Map of the Mississippi River Commission.] 

Basin. State ^Ss! ^^'■*''*- 

St. Francis Basin and Mississippi 

River front Illinois 65 41,000 

Missouri 2,874 l,8a'J,y»;0 

Kentucky 125 80,000 

Tennessee 426 272,640 

Arkansas 3,216 2,058,240 

do 956 611,840 

White and Arkansas fronts Tennessee 27 17.280 

Yazoo basin Mississippi 6,621 4,237,440 

Arkansas 480 307,200 

Macon, Boeuf, and Tensas basins. ... Missii-sippi 305 195,200 

Louisiana 4,475 2,864,000 

Atchafalaya basin do 6,195 3,964,800 

Pontchartrain basin do 2,001 1,280,640 

JLa Fourche basin do 2,024 1,295,360 



Total 29,790 19,065,600 

_ BY STATES. 

„. . Square Acres. 

^*"^'' miles. 

Illinois 65 41,600 

Missouri 2,874 1,839,360 

Kentucky 1 25 80,000 

Tennessee 453 289,920 

Arkansas 4,652 2,977,280 

Mississippi 6,926 4,432,640 

Louisiana 14,695 9,404,800 

29,790 19,065,600 " 
COMPARATIVE EXPENDITURES BY THE GOVERNMENT. 

To those who charge the government with too lavish appro- 
priations for the improvement of Western water-ways may 
perhaps Vje enlightened by a recent debate in Congress on the 
subject of appropriations. 

In discussing the Union Pacific Railroad indebtedness Mr. 
Edmunds of the Senate said : — 

Mr. Edmunds. No, that is principal and interest down to 
the 1st of July, 188-5. There is twelve years of interest yet 
on $33,000,000, which would be, at 6 per cent., 72 per cent. 



336 Gould's history of river navigation. 

on $33,000,000, which, in round numbers, is three-quarters^ 
of that, wliich woukl be about $24,000,000 more, which added 
to your $68,000,000, leaving off the odd hundred thousands, 
would make $92,000,000, that within ten years from this date 
will be due to the United States from this corporation for 
actual cash that the United States will have paid out. 

Now, what else did it get? Let us see. The land question 
is stated in the same report. The net proceeds of land sales, 
after deducting all expenses of management, commission, &c., 
to December" 31, 1884, were $25,668,80<i.65. Add that 
twenty-five million dollars to the ninetj^-odd millions that I 
had before and you have, in round numbers, just about $120,- 
000,000 of cash that this company will have had from the 
United States. 

"The estimated value of the unsold lands is $13,602,- 
696.25." 

Take that to be a fair estimate of the value and add that 
to your $120,000,000, and you have $134,000,000 that the 
people of the United States have paid into this thousand 
miles of road from Omaha to Ogden. 

The amount appropriated for the improvement of the rivers 
of the Mississippi Valley, as shown in the various reports 
published in this work, sink into insignificance when com- 
pared with the subsidies granted this single road. And while 
the latter is claimed to be a loan, in part, there are very grave 
doubts whether the government will ever be able to collect 
even the interest, much less the principal. 

In discussing the subject of river and harbor appropria- 
tions, it was shown that out of $105,000,000 that had been ex- 
pended up to 1882 — $19,000,000 had been expended on the 
Mississippi Eiver, and several millions have since been 
absorbed. 

The following table will surprise some who are not aware 
of the distribution that has been made of the river and har- 
bor appropriations up to 1882 by States. There is no com- 
parative statement at hand by which it may be seen W'hether 
the same proportionate division has been continued up to the 
present time: — 

There had been expended up to 1882 the sum of $105,000,- 
000. Most of that has been expended since 1865. There has 
been expended of this sum on the Mississippi River up to 
1882, $19,536,000, and several millions have been expended 
since. In other words, we have chiefly within the last fifteen 
or twenty years made an expenditure of more than $125,000,- 
000 on rivers and harbors, and each year we are continuing, 



COMPARITAVE EXPENDITURES 337 

to increase that amount by similar expenditures. The ex- 
penditure up to 1882 by States is as follows: — 

Alabama $ 956,142 

Arkansas , 315,000 

California 1,493,428 

Connecticut 1,527,448 

Delaware 3,043,G36 

Florida 680,352 

Georgia 1,364,064 

Idaho Territory 10,000 

Illinois 2,352,304 

Indiana 786, 198 

Iowa 2,499 

Kentucljy 367,500 

Louisiana 147,809 

Maine 1,404,889 

Maryland 1,485,769 

Massachusetts 2,928,779 

Michigan 7,828,356 

Minnesota 447,500 

Missouri 22,000 

Mississippi 295.175 

New Hampshire 175,500 

New Jersey 987,496 

New York 9,539,973 

North Carolina 2,261,202 

Ohio 2,857,031 

Oregon 649,305 

Pennsylvania 1,067,101 

Khode Island 733,613 

South Carolina 931 ,342 

Tennessee 85,500 

Texas 2,166,133 

Vermont 545,311 

Virginia , 1,683,375 

Washington Territory 5,500 

West Virginia 1,387,587 

Wisconsin 4,61 6,495 

District of Columbia 253,202 

Miscellaneous 38,349,108 

Suudries 

Total §105,796,403 

CUT-OFFS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 

"Old Timer" furnishes the New Orleans Times-Demo- 
crat with the following chronicles of cut-offs in the days of 
auld lang syne : — 

The total number of cut-offs which have been made in the 
direction of the serpentine course of the Lower Mississippi 
by the shifting of its alluvial course at various times since 
1699 are computed at no less than 180 miles. The channel is 
estimated to have been regularly changing for ages at the rate 
of two miles per year. It has probably thus traversed the 
jWhole alluvial surface of the States of Louisiana and Missis- 

22 



338 Gould's history of river navigation. 

sippi, particularly the delta of the former, which is so low. 
The following are some of the cut-offs, commencing with the 
earliest of record : — 

1. About 1699 it is supposed that the Yazoo cut-off took 
place and Old River was formed. 

2. The first Homochitto cut-off in 1720, which saved a dis- 
tance of thirty miles. Previously the river washed the high- 
lands of the present county of Adams. 

3. Point Coupee cut-off was made in 1721. 

4. Great Cut Point. This cut-off is the one above latitude 
33 degrees, and was made about the year 1747. 

5. The second Homochitto cut-off in 1779. This burst 
through in one night while a boat ascending the stream lay 
just above it. 

6. New cut-off, in 1817. 

7. Red River cut-off, in 1831/ 

8. Bunch's cut-off in 1832. 

Total extent of these cut-offs, 180 miles. 

Niles' Register, October, 1836: The distance around the 
bend of the Mississippi, into wdiich the Red River empties 
itself, is eighteen miles. On the 14th of January, 1831, 
Captain Shreve, the superintendent for improving the navi- 
gation of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, commenced making 
an excavation across the neck of land at the narrowest point. 
The object was effected by cutting a canal seventeen feet 
wide and twenty-two feet deep. The water was let through 
the canal about the 28th of January, fourteen days after the 
commencement of the work. In two days the water had ex- 
cavated a channel to such an extent that the steamboat Belvi- 
dere passed up through it. On the same day the United States 
steamer Heliopolis passed up the same channel. In five days 
it was the main channel of the river. The excavation was 
made by the steam snag-boat Heliopolis. She used steam 
scrapers. 

August 20, 1831, Florida Gazette, La., says *♦ By shortening 
the river twenty leagues between Fort Adams and New Orleans 
you increase the rise of water at New Orleans, by 7 feet and 
1 inch. Captain Shreve has therefore been tampering with a 
dangerous subject, and it is to be hoped that no more such ex- 
periments will be tried. It is well known that the levee is a 
heavy burden in lower Louisiana. In 1828 there was not, on 
an average, 6 inches of levee above the level of the river from 
Point Coupee to New Orleans. If the cut-off at Raccourei is 



DISTANCE BETWEEN CAIRO AND THE GULF, 339 

made, by which twenty-eight miles will be saved, the rise of 
the river at the lower point will be about 3 feet 9 inches, and 
the levee at New Orleans must be raised 5 feet higher." 

There has been since " Old Timer's" day or since the Red 
River cut-off, the following : Agreeable to Captain Isaiah Sel- 
ler's diary Horse Shoe cut-off was made in 1839. In 1847 
Rackasee cut-off was made ; in 1858 Lake Port, then followed 
in rapid succession the cut-offs at the mouth of Arkansas, 
Terrapin and Davis cut-off. In 1876, the cut-offs at Com- 
merce, Centennial or Island 32 was made, Vicksburg, Water 
Proof and Kaskaskia about the same time. The latter is the 
only cut-off above the mouth of the Ohio on the Mississippi 
of which there is any record. 

If " Old Timer" is correct in his calculations, and there 
was saved in distance 180 miles in 132 years, by eight cut-offs, 
we now find eleven cut-offs, from 1839 to about 1885, or say 
46 years, some one has suggested that it would be an inter- 
esting problem for a curious mathematician to determine how 
many years it will require to bring Cairo and the Gulf of 
Mexico into close proximity. 

The writer in the Florida Gazette, La., above quoted, is 
doubtless in error about the effect of shortening the river, 
although there is no doubt a cut-off raises the water immedi- 
ately below. But the increase in the velocity of the current 
and the increased scour on the bottom of the river correspond- 
ing with the velocity, very naturally modifies the rise, and it 
Boon adjusts itself, but renders necessary increased protection 
•to caving banks. 



340 GOULDS HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



CHAPTER XLYTTI. 

IMPROVEMENT OF MISSISSIPPI ABOVE ST. LOUIS, OR UPPER MIS- 
SISSIPPI. 

THE character of the river above the mouth of the Mis- 
souri differs so much from that below there seems neces- 
sary an entirely different system of improvement. 

The plans adopted so far as executed, seem to have resulted 
successfully. The great natural obstructions " the lower and 
the upper rapids," as they are familiarly known, have been 
materially improved. The lower, or " DesMoine Rapids," 
by a canal of 8 miles. The upper or " Rock Island Rapids," 
by the excavation of rock from the channel. The system of 
dredging and wing dams seems adapted to the improvement 
of the low water embarrassment in other parts of the river 
and if continued may result in furnishing sufficient water in 
the channel for all navigable purposes. From present indica- 
tions the sixteen railroad bridges across this river above St. 
Louis, so obstruct the navigation and restrict the commerce 
of the river, that the time is not far distant when the lumber 
traffic, the raft towins;, will comprise its principal commerce. 
The careless and indifferent manner in which the government 
has allowed the railroad bridges to be built, seems to have 
pretty nearly accomplished two objects, whether intended or 
not, viz. : to change the course of trade from north and south, 
to east and west, and to so obstruct navigation as to destroy 
competition. 

The first bridge across the Mississippi was at Rock Island. 
It was a draw-bridge and built without any legal authority, 
simply by a charter from the State of Illinois. It was com- 
menced in 1853 and finished in 1856, and was the most dan- 
gerous obstruction to navigation ever constructed, on account 
of its being located over a chain of rocks, producing boils and 
cross-currents which were difficult to keep a boat in. Many 
lives were lost in passing through the draw, and under the 
bridge, and many rafts were broken up. One fine steamboat, 
the Effa Afton, was sunk and a large number of lives lost. 
An effort was made b}^ the river interest to have the bridge 
removed as an illegal structure and dangerous to navigation. 
But such was the persistency of the proprietors they defeated 
every effort in the several courts to which it was carried, and 
after fighting the bridge for more than ten years with the 



REMOVAL OF THE ROCK ISLAND BRIDGE. 341 

money and influence of the Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis, 
as well as that of many citizens along the river, and the best 
legal talent that could be employed, the bridge remained until 
removed by act of Congress in 1872, when by a sort of com- 
promise the government built another bridge higher up the 
river at the head of the Island, and removed the old one. 

After the expenditure of more than $20,000 in litigation, of 
which the boatmen contributed very liberally, and to no pur- 
pose, they concluded it was not worth time or money to at- 
tempt to defeat a railroad in building bridges wherever they 
desired. Hence, whenever a road reached the bank of the 
river, they met with but little opposition in building any kind 
of a bridge they fancied. The result is, there is already 16 
Ijridges on the Upi)er Mississippi, scarcely any one of which 
was built with any regard to the navigation of the river except 
the government bridge at Rock Island. 

There has been expended by the government for improve- 
ment of navigation up to the present time, January, 18b9, on 
the river above St. Louis, in round numbers, about eight mill- 
ion dollars, including the canal at the lower rapids which cost 
about $4,000,000. In 1837, the government undertook to 
make an improvement on the lower rapids under the direction 
of Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, of the Engineer Corps, by 
blasting out a channel through what is known as the " lower 
chain " or "Sucker Chute." It was a valuable improvement 
as far as it went, and is still used as the channel in low water. 
But the appropriation was soon exhausted and the work was 
abandoned. President James K. Polk's strict "construction " 
theory soon prevailed, and no more money for several years 
was appropriated for " Internal Improvements," among which 
was very inconsistently classed " inland wafers." 

The theory that has more recently prevailed in the public 
mind, that all problems of cheap transportation would be solved 
l)y the introduction of barges as soon as navigation shall 
be so improved as to make the towing of them practicable, 
-will probably never be realized on the Upper Mississippi. 

From the earliest dates, since the settlement of the country 
required river transportation, barges or keel-boats have been 
important factors. Even before the introduction of steam 
they were here, as on other Western streams in general use, 
only of a little different character. They were known as 
" keel-boats" and the only change effected by the introduc- 
tion of steamboats, was, they were towed instead of being 
floated and handled by sweeps, as formerly. 

The great distance (some 30 miles), through which the rap- 



342 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ids extend, with only 125 miles between the two, with some- 
two feet less water across them than was found in the ordinaiy 
channel, rendered towing always practicable except in high 
water. The same custom still prevails, and while the canal' 
and the deepening of the channel across the upper rapids have 
greatly improved the navigation, saying nothing about the 
other improvements still going on, the damage consequent 
upon the construction of so many badly protected bridge piers 
has done far more to destroy the safety of navigation than the 
eight million dollars expended by the government has done to 
improve it. 

In this utilitarian age, it is hardly worth while to speculate 
or theorize upon the distant future or of what may occur. 
But there are a few old boatmen and citizens who still remem- 
ber the beautiful scenery and picturesque views along the whole 
course of this river, from the foot of the lower rapids 
(Keokuk), to the Falls of St. Anthony, when the Indians 
were the sole occupants and owners on the west side, with but 
few white settlements on the east side of the river. 

Even at that early day, before St, Paul was located, or 
Minneapolis thought of, an occasional tourist, attracted by 
the beauty of the scenery in its native wildness, would take 
passage on some of the few boats that annually made a trip to 
the forts and trading posts with soldiers and supplies. 

Through the courtesy of the officers at Fort Snelling, the 
head of navigation, an additional pleasure was afforded them, 
and the officers of the boats by a trip in the government 
wagons, across the beautiful prairie, a distance' of nine miles 
from the Falls St. Anthony, taking in on the route the 
picturesque little waterfall of " Minnehaha." 

The only evidences of civilization then to be seen where the 
large city of Minneapolis now stands, was a little log grist 
mill built by the soldiers on the bank of the river in the midst 
of the falls from whence power was obtained to grind the corn 
for the use of the garrison nine miles distant. 

While these wild native scenes are vividly remembered by the 
past and the present generations, what may not be anticipated 
by coming generations, when we contemplate the unsurpassed 
beauty and fertility of this valley and the grandeur and pos- 
sibilities of this noble river which meanders a distance of GOO 
miles through this part of the valley in its course to the gulf. 

No one mile through which it courses but what is suscepti- 
ble of the highest cultivation and offers the rarest attractions 
for building hamlets, villas, towns and cities. 

In anticij^ation of future events it is gratifying to know the 



FIRST CHIPPEWA LAND SALE. 343 

government has the power to remove or remodel these illy 
constructed bridges. But from past experience it is well to 
remember that the sentiment of the jyeople must be remodeled 
before it can be done. The practical question suggests itself. 
Is it not wise to construct them properly at first? Of thi» 
the government should consider. 

The long intervals between boats at that early period, 
sometimes rendered a resort to the canoe and pirogue neces- 
sary to travelers and tourists when it became important or 
desirable for them to leave the country before the arrival of 
the next steamboat. 

This writer can speak knowingly and feelingly on this sub- 
ject, he being desirious of attending the first sale of pine lands 
on the Chippewa and Eau Claire rivers by the Chippewa In- 
dians, in 1(538. 

The sale was advertised to take place at Fort Snelling on a 
certain date. Having arrived there by steamboat a short time 
previous to the day of sale, I concluded to remain with some 
Indian traders living across the river from the fort whose ac- 
quaintance I had made. 

Indians being a good deal like white men are often a " little 
uncertain," and for some reason failed to arrive on the day 
appointed for the sale, and as the sale was possible to be de- 
ferred from time to time, a small party of us who were there 
for the same purpose concluded to bu}^ two bark canoes and a 
small outfit, and explore the country that was to be sold. 

It lay about 150 miles east, by the way of the Mississippi 
and Chippewa Kivers. Across the country it was much less. 
But as there were no roads, guides, nor means of conveyance, 
we took the natural route, packed our canoes and started down 
the river. 

When night came we had reached Red Wing, the Indian 
village of the Sioux. But as their accommodations were only 
sufficient for themselves, we made our camp on the bank of 
the river where we entertained the whole vilIao;e durms; the 
evening. 

There being four in our party we divided he night into four 
watches, each standing two hours. 

Tents had not then become so necessary to campers as they 
are now, and we depended upon the clerk of the weather for 
protection from storms in the absence of the Signal Service 
Bureau. But having failed to provide ourselves with mosquita 
bars, all other protection sunk into insignificance. We could 
have withstood a hard storm, even a raid from the Indians, 
anything that could have saved us from the persistency and 



344 Gould's history of river navigation. 

poisonous effects of these venomous insects. Even in mid-day 
or in a gale of wind it was all the same. They seemed to have 
existed so long on Indian diet that the blood of the white 
man was a luxury they could not resist. And still, judging 
from the size to which they had attained, there could be no 
doubt that their diet was at least strengthening. The swamps 
and morasses of Mississippi or Louisiana, where they feast 
upon shrimps or alligators tlie year round, never produced such 
bloodthirsty fiends as the Upper Mississippi did before the 
wdiite man squatted on its baniss. What effect civilization has 
had upon them this deponent sayeth not. After battling two 
days with heavy winds through Lake Pepin, we at length 
reached the mouth of the Chippewa. Then came the tug of 
war. Recent rains had swollen that stream, so that in spite of 
our eflbrts, after dropping one canoe and doubling our pro- 
pelling power, we could only make about half a mile per 
hour. We were therefore compelled to the conclusion that we 
did not care about buying pine lands any way. And as we 
were then some eighty miles from the fort down stream, we 
ceased paddling our canoe and soon found ourselves floating 
out onto the broad Mississippi, where we picked up our aban- 
doned craft, re-arranged our cargo, and after persuading a 
half-breed Frenchman, who was camping on the bank opposite 
the mouth of the river, to part with his mosquito bar for our 
remaining stock of whisky, we again shoved out and started 
for civilization, satisfied that while we had the current in our 
favor it was only a question of time when we should reach 
there. 

We divided our mosquito bar into hoods, or vails, by which 
we protected our faces, necks, etc., and by long buck gloves 
which we had supplied ourselves with, we bid defiance to the 
gallenippers, except when eating our meals which we cooked 
on shore. After a few uneventful days of floating, paddling 
and camping we reached Dubuque, wiser if not whiter men. 

There we met the new steamer. Smelter, Capt. Smith 
Harris, just from Cincinnati. With all the applause and con- 
gratulations that were being extended to the captain by the 
citizens none were more ready or better prepared to appreci- 
ate the value of steam in navigation than we were. 



IMrKOVEMENT 0¥ THE OHIO KIVEU. 345 



CHAPTEE XLIX. 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE OHIO RIVER. 

ON streams like the Ohio, the practicability of improving 
the navigation has never been questioned. 

It is only as to the best mode of doing it and of the various 
plans proposed, most of which, so far as they have had a 
fair trial have resuUed in some beueiit. 

For a period of six months ea "h year, the Ohio furnishes 
as good, as safe navigation, or did previous to the building of 
bridges across it, as any stream in the known world. The 
banks are permanent, the bottom is of hard sand or gravel, 
the current is usually gentle, the channel varies but little. 

In a very extended and able report made by Col. W . Milnor 
Roberts, civil engineer, in charge of Ohio River Improve- 
ments, to chief of engineers of the United States army, in 
1870, various plans are considered in detail. Any one of 
which, if adopted by the government and vigorously prose- 
cuted, would undoubtedly result in adding at least four months 
each year, making 10 months out of 12 of the best navigation 
on any river in America. 

1 he following short extract from his report will be read 
with interest. 

Those who are interested in the improvement of the Ohio 
will find in a work recently issued by the government," Inter- 
national Commerce of the United States," extended quota- 
tions on the subject. 

Wherever this river is improved as contemplated, and the 
bridges protected as they may and should be, there seems no 
good reason why certain classes of steamboats may not suc- 
cessfully compete * with parallel lines of railroads in the 
transportation of all heavy and bulky freights. But never 
for a general passenger traffic, or for light, valuable 
merchandise. 

The hope, then, for those engaged in river transportation 
lays within themselves. A united effort on their part may 
result in Congress making sufficient appropriations to so im- 
prove the navigation that the now rapidly declining commerce 
of the river may be practically, if not wholly, restored. 



346 Gould's history of river navigation. 



OHIO RIVER IMPROVE3IENTS. 

The following extracts, taken from a special report made in 
1870 to the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, 
by Col. W. Milnor Roberts, civil engineer in charge of Ohio 
River improvement, though vohiminous, have such an intelli- 
gent and direct relation to this subject that the reader will find 
them perhaps the l>est exposition of the several modes pro- 
posed for river improvement possible under the circumstances. 
It will be sufficient to say before j^tresenting these extracts that 
the main conclusions of this expert engineer have been gen- 
erally approved by the General Government, and some of 
them — notably in the case of the Davis Island dam — carried 
into practical operation. 

Colonel Roberts says : — 

" Former reports to the Department made .some years ago 
by different topographical engineers, and later reports made 
by myself, concur in the opinion that the system heretofore 
adopted to improve the navigation by means of riprap stone 
wing-dams concentrating and guiding the water into compara- 
tively confined channels, although beneficial and useful, 
especially to the low-water navigation, does, not meet the 
requirements understood as belonging to the radical improve- 
ment of the whole river. The present low-water system, it 
is true, does not involve a large expenditure of money. It 
does good and helps the navigation to a certain extent, at a 
small cost, and it can be effected in a short time, much of it 
in one or two favorable working seasons. But when finished, 
although it will be productive of public benefit njore than com- 
mensurate with the outlay required, it will be no more than 
an amelioration of the present difijculty. All that has been 
promised or hoped for under this system, without the aid of 
artificial reservoirs, has been an increase of 12 to 18 inches in 
the depth of the low-water channels, making about 2i feet 
where there was only 12 to IS inches in the natural river. It 
is important to effect even this, and the whole amount of 
money required for this purpose is comparatively insignificant. 
But the public now using and interested in the navigation of 
this river is a much grreater and more influential and more 
national body than the public that was concerned in it twenty- 
five years ago; and such improvements as were then satisfac- 
tory are now believed to be inadequate, even for the present 
river business, and not at all such as ought to be established in 
view of its future augmentation. Hence the question of its 



OHIO KIVER IMPROVEMENTS. 347' 

radical improvement is much more important now than it was 
a quarter of a century ago. The present interests involved 
are manifold greater, and it is quite obvious that nothing is 
likely to occur to prevent or seriously retard their future fur- 
ther rapid development and extension. So that if there are 
now six hundred millions of dollars' value of river commerce, 
as compared with tifty millions of former times, a few years 
only in the national life will elapse till there may be a thou- 
sand millions in place of the six hundred millions of value at 
the present time. The permanent improvement of a natural 
channel of commerce of such vast present and future impor- 
tance may well command the careful study and attention nOt 
only of the Engineer Department, but of Congress and of the 
whole country. Plans which years ago may have appeared 
gigantic or disproportioned to the extent of the trade then in- 
terested may now be regarded as no more than appropriate 
to the magnitude of the new commercial necessities of the 
river. Yet, forty years ago, in the infancy of the internal- 
improvement system in the great States of Pennsylvania and 
New York, these single States did not hesitate to invest over 
$60,000,000 for State public improvements, and this exi)endi- 
ture has been abundantly repaid in the consequent develop- 
ment not only of the resources of those States but of the 
resources of the great West. For unquestionablj^ it was 
largely, indeed principally, owing to the construction of the 
great canal and railroad thoroughfares through Pennsylvania 
and New^ York (afterwards materially aided by the opening of 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) that the West and North-west 
became so rapidly settled and developed in such an extraor- 
dinary manner. The fact, therefore, that it will cost a large- 
sum to make the Ohio River all that ought to be made of it as 
a great national commercial artery is not and probably will 
not be generally considered to be of such vital consequence as 
in early times. The particular mode of improving it in order 
to secure the best attainable result is of more real consequence 
than the cost of effecting such result. It may be conceded 
and understood in the outset that to accomplish the complete, 
radical improvement of the Ohio River will require a large ex- 
penditure. 

" Of the several plans proposed it is believed that only one 
would secure the pro{)er depth of navigation at all times with- 
out aid from artificial supply from reservoirs. The plan of 
locks and dams, if the works w^ere properly constructed, would, 
in my opinion, furnish the desired depth at all seasons, with- 
out any artificial aid from reservoirs. The reasons upoa* 



348 Gould's history of river navigation. 

■which this opinion is based will appear further on. It is not 
mentioned here in the way of an argument in favor of that 
particular plan, but merely as an ascertained fact. The merits 
and demerits of this plan will be exhibited in this report. 

" The plan of reservoirs as the sole means of supplying the 
Ohio River at all times with an additional flow sufficient to in- 
sure in low-water periods a depth of 5 or even (5 feet origi- 
nated with Charles Ellet, Jr., Esq., civil engineer, and was very 
beautifully elaborated by him in various publications, and 
thirteen years ago its adoption was strongly urged upon the 
country. His plan contemplated no work upon the river 
itself, the idea being to accumulate large quantities of water 
in reservoirs upon the headwaters, or on the main streams 
above the head of the Ohio, to be drawn off and allowed to 
flow when needed to maintain the proper depth of the main 
river. No special surveys were made for the purpose of de- 
termining the number and locations of the reservoirs contem- 
plated on this plan. Daily observations had been made 
through a series of years of the depth of the flow in the chan- 
nel at Wheeling. From these Mr. Ellet deduced by calcula- 
tion the theory that enough water falls upon the territory 
drained above Wheeling, if it were equalized throughout the 
3'ear, to make a constant depth of over 7 feet in that channel. 
He found by calculation the probable quantity of water re- 
quired to be stored up in reservoirs sufficient to maintain a 
depth of 6 feet through the low-water periods. He also made 
some personal examinations along the upper portions of the 
Alleghany River and obtained considerable information from 
various sources respecting elevations of ditferent parts of the 
region in question, all of which enabled him to present his 
views in very attractive forms, both to the scientific world 
and to the general public. The practical merits of this plan 
of reservoirs will be considered in another place in this report, 

"A third plan for the improvement of the river was pro- 
posed by Herman Haupt, Esq., civil engineer, in 1855, which 
consists of a system of longtitudinal mounds and cross-dams 
so arranged as to make a canal on one side of the river about 
200 feet wide, or a greater width, and reducing the flow to 
nearly an average of, say, about 6 inches per mile between 
Pittsburgh and Louisville. Thus, instead of a series of nat- 
ural pools and ripples, which now constitute the general regi- 
men of the river, this plan would change it, on a width of 200 
feet or more, to an equable flow due to the general average 
declivity of the stream. 

'Mr. Haupt's calculations showed that in extreme low- 



PLANS PROPOSED FOR IMPROVING OHIO RIVER. 34J>' 

vvater stages there is not water enough flowing naturally to 
maintain the full required cle})th in such a channel; that some 
additional supply would be needed from reservoirs; very much, 
less, however, than the quantity necessary to maintain a sim- 
ilar depth in the unobstructed river on Mr. Ellet's plan. 

" A fourth plan has been proposed by Alonzo Livermore, 
Esq., civil engineer, the principle of which he secured by 
patent in 1800. It is a combination of daiusand peculiar open 
chutes through the ddms, arranged so as to retard the flow and 
lessen the velocity of the water from the U[)per to the lower 
pool without interfering with the free passage of boats through 
the chutes ; the chutes being substituted for locks. This may 
be regarded as another method or substitute for the open canal 
and dams which had been proposed by Mr. Haupt as a means 
of saving water on the reservoir plan. For a certain width of 
chute, say 100 feet, the natural low-water flow on Mr. Liver- 
more' s plan is deemed sufficient without the aid of artificial 
reservoirs. 

" It is proposed to consider each of these four proposed 
methods of im[)roving the river in the order in which they are 
already referred to, premising that this order or arrangement 
has no reference whatever to the respective merits of the 
different plans, but arises naturally in connection with the 
periods when the several plans were publicly promulgated. 
I should further remark heie that although the writer early 
advocated the idea of the probable future construction of a 
lock-aud-dam system for the Ohio, while engaged as engineer 
in constructing the Monongahela steamboat navigation in 1839, 
he has never been so wedded to that particular mode or to 
any one plan as to hinder him from presenting all plans in an 
impartial manner to the consideration of those who, with every 
wish to know their merits, could not be expected to take the 
time to examine fully for themselves. So that, in entering 
now upon a reinvestigation of this subject, I am by no means 
sure which plan, as a whole, may ultimately be deemed most 
advantageous. It is due to myself, in connection with so 
grave a question, to state further that at no time during for- 
mer examinations into the merits of the different plans did 
the writer feel warranted in recommending without more in- 
vestigation the adoption of either of the modes proposed." 



.^50 Gould's history of kiver navigation. 

CHAPTER L. 

THE STEAM WHISTLE. 

A GOOD deal of controversy has arisen at different peri- 
ods by tliose claiming to know the invention and first 
use of the steam whistle. Without pretending to settle the 
question, the following paragraphs may throw some light on 
an unimportant matter. — 

A paper pubh'shed in St. Louis in 1838, called the St. Louis 
Bulletin makes this claim : — 

" The steam whistle is an invention of the celebrated Mr. 
Watt many years ago. A correspondent of the National In- 
telligencer describes it as he saw it at the Chelsea Water 
Works as far back as 1820. It was an iron whistle, which, 
piercing the top of the boiler, descended into it, near to which 
the water could with safety be evaporated. The moment the 
water became exhausted below that level the steam would rush 
up into the whistle and ' pipe all hands ' giving the warning 
of danger." 

Captain Wm. H. Fulton, an old river man living at Little 
Rock, Arkansas, writes to the Marine Journal in 1885 as 
follows : — 

" We think we can settle the matter of the first steam 
whistle ever used on Western and Southern waters beyond 
the possibility of a dispute. In the spring of 1844, Capt. 
Abraham Bennett, of Wheeling, West Virginia, J. Stut 
•Neal, of Indiana, and myself had a boat built at Pittsburgh, 
which was named. Ee venue. While the boat was beings 
finished ]Mr. Andrew Fidton, the great bell and brass foundry 
man, made a trip to Philadelphia on business. On his return 
he spoke of a great curiosity he had seen there in the way of 
a steam whistle, which could be screwed on the top of one of 
the boilers. Mr. Fulton described the whistle in such a man- 
ner that Mr. Neal, who was an engineer and one of the owners, 
ordered one to be put on the Revenue. I was to be clerk of 
the boat and induced the Captain to put into the staterooms 
rubber life preservers. I now state without fear of contra- 
diction that the steamer Revenue was the first steamboat on 
Western waters to use a steam whistle or a life preserver." 

Captain Joseph Wolff, formerly of Pittsburgh and an old 
river man, has this to say of the steam whistle: — 

** The first steam whistle I ever heard or heard tell of, was 



AN OLD STEAMBOAT3IAN's VIEWS. 351 

on the two-boiler coast packet, Luda, in the year 1843, 
It was screwed into the top of the boiler, and the first time it 
■was used was when she passed the fast Nashville and New 
Orleans packet, Talleyrand." 

An old-time steamboat Captain thus expresses his views: — 
*' The steamer St. Charles, built at Pittsburgh in 1844, for 
the Nashville and New Orleans trade, was the first boat ever 
to use a steam whistle. He came from Pittsburgh on the St. 
Charles and sa3^s Capt. Wolff is slightly mistaken. The boat 
was commanded by Capt, Mark Sterling, and owned by I. R. 
Yeatman & Co., of Nashville." 

THE FIRST CALLIOPE ON A STEAMBOAT. 

"The first introduction of the musical steam calliope on 
Southern waters was by the Ohio River steamer Unicorn, a 
little over thirty years ago. When the ear-splitting music 
began to play as the boat neared the wharf the people won- 
dered, and the wonder grew as the airs changed. Up in the 
city the strains created a decided sensation, and many ran out 
of their houses, around the next corner expecting to see half 
a dozen brass bands march along. The farther the curious 
went the more distant seemed the sound, until at length word 
was spread that it was a steam calliope on a steamboat, and 
thousands went to the bluff to listen to it. Afterwards a 
calliope was put on Spauldiug & Rogers' great show boat, the 
Floating Palace, and with a skilled musician to play it, together 
with a system of bell chimes. The peculiar music waked the 
natives on all the tributaries of the Mississippi as well as on 
the main river itself, and also on the Alabama and tributaries. 
The people of the Yazoo and Tallahatchie valleys were first 
treated to calliope music, in hand-organ style, on board of 
the steamer Dixie, a small craft built by Capt. S. H. Parisot 
and the late Capt. M. P. Dent, nearly thirty years ago. The 
swamps reverberated with the tones of the steam organ for 
many miles as the boat passed up and down the stream, and 
the darkies fairly howled with delight as they listened, while 
the white folks were almost equally excited. The steam 
whistle was first introduced on boats about 1845, and when 
the steamer Anthony Wayne ascended the Upper Mississippi 
and Minnesota Rivers with one a year or two after, a crowd 
of curious Chippewa Indians went overboard like didappers 
on the deep side at one of the landings, when the whistle was 
turned loose. The first boat built exclusively for passengers 
was the General Pike at Cincinnati, in 1818. The first boat 



352 Gould's history of river navigation. 

to use the steam capstan was the Tennessee River packet 
Greek Slave in 1846, and the first steam freight hoister was 
on the bayou Lafourche packet C. D. Jr., built at Louisville. 
Before that, manual labor was the method. The present sys- 
tem of swinging stages by steam was introduced a little over 
twenty years ago, and the first electric light displayed at our 
wharf, was on the iron steamer Chouteau less than ten years 
ago." 

THE FIRST U. 8. MARINE HOSPITAL TAX. 

fFrom De Bow's Review, 1846.1 

By an act of Congress passed in 1798, a permanent fund 
was provided out of the wages of seamen for hospital pur- 
poses, to the benefit of which boatmen were afterwards 
admitted. 

It has now been eighty-six years since the tax was first im- 
posed upon seamen and boatmen. The tax has just been 
removed during the present Congress and the government now 
assumes the maintenance of this great institution. 

In connection with the above we will state that some years 
before the advent of steamboats upon the Western waters, or, 
as early as 1804, at which time a U. S. Custom-house was 
established at New Orleans, all barges and keel-boats entering 
this port were enrolled and hospital dues collected, according 
to the number of men composing the crews of these barges 
and keel-boats, also aU sea-going vessels entering this port. 



353 



CHAPTEE LI. 



THE WANTON DESTRUCTION OF VESSELS. 

^^ IV/T'^ attention has been drawn to this subject hy an 
-»-Vx article published in one of the city papers. This 
refers to the steamboat Shanon. One of the principal charges 
is, that the clerk of the boat foro;ed and uttered bills of lading 
for a large quantity of cotton which had never been shipped 
upon the boat. This was done for the purpose of defrauding 
the underwriters out of a large amount of money in case the 
boat sunk or was otherwise destroyed. This is one of the 
highest crimes known in the criminal law of England, punish- 
able by transportation to the penal colonies for life. 

I hope for the honorable and good reputation which the 
steamboutmen of the Mississippi and its tributaries have 
always borne, that this may not be true so far a^ the Shanon' s 
officers are concerned. 

I know of but one instance of this kind in the history of 
steamboating on the Western waters. This was the burning of 
the steamer Martha Washington in 1849 or '50. I think some 
place near Grand Gulf. 

The steamer Martha Washington was commanded and owned 
by Capt. John Cummings, running between the ports of Cin- 
cinnati and New Orleans. A largje amount of the caro;o or the 
most valuable portion of it was shipped by Kassine & Co., 
Cincinnati, Ohio. 

She was burned near Grand Gulf. The hull sunk before 
the entire cargo was burned. The wreckers took possession 
shortly after she sunk, and commenced to recover her cargo. 
They soon found that many of the boxes and packages ship- 
ped by Kassine & Co. contained only scraps, shavings, etc. 
Upon this the underwriters arrested Kassine, Capt. Cummings 
and some others. 

Kassine was found guilty and sentenced for a long term of 
years to the penitentiary. Cummings was also tried, and I 
think on the first trial the jury could not agree. He was still 
under indictment and would have been tried again, but died, 
it is said, from the effects of his troubles." 

The accompanying account of the same transaction as will 
be observed, locates the burning of the Martha Washington 

23 



354 Gould's history of river navigation 

at Island No. 65, instead of *' near Grand Oulf,'^ which is 
correct. The boat burned near Grand Gulf was the Wash- 
iiigton, about the same time, hence the conflicting accounts. 

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. JNO. CUMMINGS AND THE BURNING OF 
THE STEAMBOAT MARTHA WASHINGTON, 1852. 

" The writer knew Capt. Jno. Cummings in 1846, when he 
brouo;ht the steamboat New Brazil to Red River, and trade! 
with her between New Orleans and Shreveport. Cummings 
was a man of splendid physique, handsome and good address, 
he and his boat were very popular and did a good business. 
He only remained one season in Red River. 

In 1847 I went down to the Rio Grande River, Mexico, with 
a small steamboat from Red River, as purser. The boat was 
chartered by the U. S. Quartermaster and we transported 
troops and munitions of war from the mouth to Comai'go. 
Upon one of these trips I met Capt. Jno. Cummings in Mata- 
moras and found that he was a partner in a large gambling 
house, the firm doing business under the name of Cole, Jim 
McCable & Cummings. Jim McCable was the faro dealer. He 
had also been a steamboat man upon the Mississippi and tribu- 
taries. 

After the close of the Mexican War I did not hear of Captain 
Cummings until 1 read the following dispatch in the New 
Orleans Daily Delta, January 16, 1852: — 

Memphis, January 12, 1852. — The steamer Martha Wash- 
ington, Captain John Cummings, bound from Cincinnati to 
New Orleans, was burned at Island No. 65 yesterday morning 
at half past one o'clock. Several lives were lost and the boat 
and cargo a total loss. The officers and crew were saved, 
some of whom were taken on board the Jas. Millenger, and 
some on the steamer Chas. Hammond. The books and papers 
were all lost. Sometime after this disaster I saw a notice of 
the arrest of Captain Cummings and William Kassine, charged 
with the crime of having burned the Martha Washington for 
the purpose of fraudulently obtaining a large amount of in- 
surance on the boat and cargo. The next thing I heard was 
that the Cincinnati underwriters had sent a diving-bell boat 
and divers to make an examination and find the evidence of 
fraud. Shortly after the divers commenced tobringthe cargo 
to the surface, they found that the boxes marked and shipped 
by Wm. Kassine as boots and shoes, saddlery and harness, 
dry goods, etc., contained only old scraps of leather and brick- 
bats. With all this evideuce of fraud on the part of Kas- 



DEATH OF CAPTAIN JOHN CUMMINGS. 355 

*ine & Co. the court was unable to convict them of the crime 
of having destroyed the boat purposely. 

After this trial Captain John Cummings was arrested a 
second time by the authorities of the State of Arkansas and 
tried for murder and arson at Helena. This second trial oc- 
cupied a long time, and Cummings remained in prison for 
many months. He was finally acquitted, but his long impris- 
onment destroyed his health and he died shortly after. 

In the annals of steamboating upon the Mississippi River it 
has been but seldom that the captain of a steamer has ever 
been charged with barratry or destroying a steamer for the 
purpose of obtaining fraudulently money from the under- 
writers. The Martha "Washington is the only instance I know 
-of where the boat was destroyed by fire." 

F. C. F. 



CHAPTEE LII. 



IRON STEAM VESSELS. 



'^''T^HE first iron boat was built on the River Thames in 
J- 1822. She was 106 feet long, seventeen feet witje, 
and was propelled by oars worked with steam. She was 
called the Aaron. The first iron steamer built in this country 
was the Valley Forge, in 1839. She had four water-tight 
compartments, and was supposed to be proof against fire or 
sinking. Nevertheless, she was snagged and sunk in her 
second or third year. Capt. Jesse Hart owned and commanded 
the Valley Forge, and, from accounts, in finish she was the J. 
M. White of her day." 

It does not appear who wrote the above article on the steam- 
boat Valley Forge. But the truth of history justifies this 
correction : The Valley Forge was built at Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, by Roberson & Minims, engine builders, and was 
owned by them, and commanded by Capt. Tom Baldwin. 
She had a good cabin for that period, but nothing superior. 

Capt. Jesse Hart probably bought into her at a later date 
and took command of her. 

But this boat, nor any of the few that have been built of 
iron, have succeeded on Western waters as a profitable in- 
vestment, although there seems no good reason why they should 
;not succeed as well as wood if properly built. 



356 Gould's history of river navigation. 

As gunboats, so far as they have been in service, they seeriL 
to have given satisfaction. 

Contrary to the above assertion, the Caledonia was 
built on the Tay, in 1818, to run between Perth and Dundee, 
and was undoubtedly the Jirst iron steamboat. 

THE FIRST IRON WAR STEAMER WAS BUILT AT PITTSBURGH,. 

1845. 

'* There is now on the stocks at Pittsburgh an iron forty-four 
gun steam frigate, about 1,100 tons, to be ship-rigged and 
propelled on Lieut. Hunter's plan. This will be the largest 
iron vessel ever built in the United States. 

1847. The Alleghany, United States steamer, launched at 
Pittsburgh, fitted out under the direction of Captain Hunter 
at Memphis, Tennessee, with that gentleman's newly invented 
machinery for propelling steam vessels. This vessel is pro- 
pelled by a submerged horizontal wheel. 

The Alleghany sailed from Memphis navy yard on June 4th, 
1847, under Lieut. Com. Hunter, for New Orleans. 

Sept., 1847. The Alleghany sailed from New Orleans on a 
cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. 

1849. The United States steamer Alleghany, Commodore 
Hunter, was off Belem, a suburb of Lisbon, on December 22d. 

In an interview I had with tlie old Commodore Hunter, 
yesterday, he informed me that the steamer Alleghany waa 
still afloat in the waters of the Indian Ocean. 

April, 1847, during the Mexican war, Lieut. Hunter com- 
manding the U. S. war steamer Scourge, captured the town of 
Alvarado upon the Mexican coast. When Commodore Perry 
with his squadron arrived he found the place already under 
the American flag. He was greatly incensed against Lieut. 
Hunter for making the capture, and a court-martial was or- 
dered. Lieut. Hunter was honorably acquitted. Commo- 
dore Hunter resigned from the United States Navy on the 
breaking out of the late war, and held a command in the Con- 
federate States Navy until the close of the war. He is prob- 
ably the oldest living officer of the United States Navy. He 
is now one of the Harbor Masters at this port." 

THE SECOND IRON STEAMBOAT BUILT FOR THE WESTERN 
WATERS, 1839. 

June, 1839. The packet ship Edwina arrived at New Or- 
leans from Liverpool, England. She brought out in sections 
an iron steamboat 180 feet long, 28 feet beam, 8 feet depth of 



IRON STEAMBOAT IN ENGLAND IN 1823. 357 

hold, and weighing sixtj'-five tons, intended to plj^ as a packet 
between Mobile and New Orleans. This steamboat has been 
sent up the river to Pittsburgh, where she will be put to- 
gether, receive her engines and return to her station. The 
name of this boat was the W. W. Fry. She sunk in the Ala- 
bama Kiver about 1841. — £Jx. Niles^ Register. 

[Niles' Register, Vol. 25, 1823. J 

IRON BOAT IN ENGLAND. 

From a late Liverpool paper: — 

"The iron steamboat Commerce de Paris sailed last week 
for Paris." 

" This boat is 112 feet long and 27 feet wide, including her 
wheels, which are only half the breadth of the common wheel. 
They are so placed that she is not in proper trim for going 
until she is loaded with 100 tons of merchandise. She will 
then go eight miles an hour, and is capable of carrying 150 
tons with very little diminution of speed, as the wheels 
w'ork equally well, however deep they are in the water." 

Soon after the great fire in Chicago in 1853, the people of 
St. Louis thought to avail themselves of that calamity, by in- 
augurating new enterprises, opening new avenues of trade, of- 
ferins: new inducements to manufacturers, and in short 
attempting to regaiu the prestige they had lost, by the greater 
enterprise of the people of Chicago. Many suggestions were 
made and many schemes were proposed. 

By the following communication, which is quoted from the 
Missouri Republican published at that date, it will be seen the 
subject of iron steamboats and barges was then just begin- 
ning to attract attention as being the thing to supersede 
wooden boats, in the near future, on Western waters. But 
■contrary to what then seemed sure to follow experiments in 
many parts of the country, and especially in Europe, with the 
exception of a few unimportant contracts, the efforts to intro- 
duce iron boats on the waters of the Mississippi Valley has 
proven a failure. The reason of which does not seem so ap- 
parent. The most probable cause is on account of the greatly 
increased cost of iron over wood. The few boats that were 
built did not determine anything positively one way or the 
other, only that they cost more than double those of wood. 
Later, a yard for building iron hulls was opened at St. 
Louis, and quite a number of boats were built for the govern- 
ment, and seem to have given good satisfaction. 

But soon alter the establishment of this yard, it be- 



358 Gould's history of river navigation. 

came apparent that the days of the present S3^stem of steam- 
boating were numbered, and no one had the nerve, if they had 
the means, to make experiments or to build expensive boats. 

The falling off in the demand for wooden boats created 
great competition in those yards, and those that wanted a boat 
built, could get it at almost any price. 

This had much to do in preventing the use of iron un- 
doubtedly, as well as closing up many boat yards. 

The mania that prevailed about that time for barge trans- 
portation, filled the rivers with barges, and there was enough 
built to supply the trade for many years or until they are 
worn out. 

Then it is possible, and there seems no good reason why 
it may not be probable, that barge companies will try the use 
of iron, or steel, in barges. 

Contrary to what seemed probable ten or fifteen ^-ears ago, 
iron or steel steamboats or barges have not been adopted. 
But had the demand continued for any kind of boats, there is 
but little doubt iron ones would at least have had a fair trial. 

IRON steamboat JOHN T. MOORE. 

In about 1880, Capt. Boardman, of New Orleans, built an 
iron hull at Cincinnati for a stern-wheel boat for the Red 
River trade. 

She had capacity for about six or eight hundred tons and wasa. 
good boat of her class. So far as her record goes she proved 
satisfactory in every respect in which the hull was involved. 

She was called "John T. Moore," and is probably still in use. 

About that time Capt. Thorwegan, Chouteau, Matfitt and 
others built the " Charles P. Chouteau" out of an iron hull 
that had been used before. 

She had a stern wheel and was one of the largest cotton 
carriers on the Mississippi. 

Her record is not conclusive as to the practicability of sub- 
stituting iron for wood on Western waters. 

The preponderance of opinion l)y those whose observation 
entitles them to consideration, seems to be adverse to iron 
hulls on shallow streams where hidden obstructions are liable 
to be encountered. 

At the present time, 1889, there is no iron boat yards in the 
West, and but little use for any other kind. 

BUILDING IRON STEAMBOATS. 

" 1853. 

Editoi' Republican: While our merchants, business men 



IKON BOAT YARD AT ST. LOUIS. 359 

51 nd property holders are diseussing how they shall best avail 
themselves of the present opportunity of securing the trade 
driven from Chicago by the recent calamity there, allow me to 
suggest that there are other and quite as legitimate enter- 
prises that demand consideration at their hands. 

And among them I would name that of a yard to ])uild iron 
steamboats. 

A yard with the proper facilities for that purpose can not 
be established for less than half a million of dollars. This 
would of course include all the necessary machinery for doing 
work with promptness and economy, and without such facili- 
ties, it would be useless to attempt to build iron steam- 
boats. 

The increased cost of building such boats over that of wood 
is the only ol)jection that can be urged against their intro- 
duction. But with the proper facilities there is no reason 
why they can not be built nearly as cheap here as at Wil- 
mington, Philadelphia, or even on the Clyde. 

But without some material aid from the city or individuals, 
a yard of this kind will hardly be located here. As I under- 
stand there is a company already formed, who are looking 
about for the most favorable location to establish such a yard, 
there is no good reason why St. Louis should not have the 
benefit of it if our citizens show the proper spirit, and extend 
to the enterprise that degree of liberality it is entitled to, and 
which is already proffered from other points. 

The jrreat efforts that are being made to extend our trade 
and commerce in every direction is all very well and neces- 
sary ; so, too, with the aid extended to railroads and other 
public enterprises. But here is a proposition to establish 
upon a permanent basis an enterprise that will do more to 
encourage manufacturers, and build up the city than all the 
increased trade that can be secured in consequence of the 
great Chicago fire. 

Is there public spirit and liberality enough in our commu- 
nity to grasp this thing before the cities on the Ohio supersede 
us, and compel us to go there for oui^ iron boats, as we 
have done for the last 40 years, for most of those built of 
wood. 

Statistics would probably show that the citizens of St. 
Louis have paid ten millions of dollars to other ports for 
building their boats in the last 40 years, giving employment 
to thousands of mechanics, merchants, etc. And the reason 
for that, has principally been, that we have not had the build- 
ing material to build them here. That can no longer be said 
in connection with iron boats. No one will doubt that we can 



3G0 Gould's history of rivek navigation. 

compete with any other point, in anythino; pertainins; to iron. 
If we cannot we had butter appeal to our iron men to know 
the reason why? 

St. Louis/1853. E. W. Gould. 

cost of steel boats. 

The present cost of steel would seem to sugirest that as the 
coming material for the use of vessels of all kinds, if wood 
is to be superseded, as it is more ductile and lighter, in 
addition to its superior strength, while the discrepMucy in 
cost is much less than a few years since. Among the last 
regular steamboats built in the West, was one built of steel at 
Dubuque, on the upper Mississippi, named Cherokee. 

Why that location was selected does not appear, as it has 
never been known as a boat-building point, or as offering any 
peculiar advantages in the wa}^ of material or skillful 
mechanics. 

So far as reported, there seems no objection to the material 
used in this boat. But it has been stated the cost of the hull 
far exceeded the estimates of the builders and fully confirmed 
the experience of all others who have figured on iron or steel 
steamboats. 

In Europe steel has been largely used in building steam 
vessels for several years, as well as in America. 

Whether the obstructions often encountered in river naviga- 
tion will be found more serious to metal than wood hulls 
probably yet remains to be tested. It is not one of strength 
but of elasticity, the possibility of yielding a blow without 
breaking. 

licensed officers OF STEAM VESSELS. 

1839. The first act of Congress relating to granting licenses 
to steam vessels and steamboats was passed in 1839. Also an 
act requiring all engineers, pilots and captains to be licensed. 
The act reads as follows: All engineers before they shall be 
allowed to act as such, shall be examined before a board of 
persons appointed for that purpose. When upon being found 
qualified shall obtain a certificate to that effect. Also :ill pilots 
of steamboats shall be examined in like manner, and if found 
qualified, upon such an examination, shall also obtain a certifi- 
cate of his qualifications. 

Also an act prohibiting any person acting as captain or 
commander of any steamboat until ho shall have served two 
years in said business. Also requiring every applicant before 



FIRST PROSECUTION FOR NOT HAVING LICENSE. 361 

•examination to bring forward testimonials as to his sober and 
industrious habits. — Ex. Nile's Register, 1840. 

Note. — We would like to know if there are any captains, 
pilots, or engineers living in this city who held one of these 
■orifjinal licenses. 

The first fine imposed upon a Western steamboat for not 
having a license was in June, 1840. In the United States 
District Court, sitting at Columbus, Ohio, a judgment has 
been obtained against the steamboat Warrington, Capt. John 
Moore, for carrying passengers and freight on the Ohio river 
without a license. The verdict was for $500, the penalty. — 
Ex. Hazard's Register, 1840, 



CHAPTER LIII. 

, TORNADO IN NATCHEZ, MISS., 1840. 

UP to this date there is no record of any serious losses to 
steamboats in this valley from tornados, or cyclones, as 
they are now more familiarly known. 

And even since that time there is no record of so great loss 
of life from that cause as was sustained then, if those on flat- 
boats laying at the landing are included. 

In Floyd's "Steamboat Directory," published in Cincin- 
nati in 1856, the following account is found : — 

"On the 7th of May, 1840, the city of Natchez was 
visited by a tornado which occasioned immense destruction 
of life and property. Several steamboats were destroyed at 
the wharf and many persons who had embarked on them were 
drowned. A large number of flat-boats were wrecked and it 
was supposed 200 boatmen were lost. A heavy tax had been 
exacted of these trading flat-l)oats at Vicksburg and a large 
number of them had recently been dropped down to Natchez. 
So the number was much larger than usual, and at that time 
it was the great center of flat-boats any way. 

The steamboat " Hinds " was blown out into the stream 
and sunk and all passengers and crew except four men were 
lost. 

It is not known how many passengers were on the boat. 

The wreck of the Hinds was afterwards found at Baton 
Rouge, with 51 dead bodies on board, 48 of which were males 
and three females. 



362 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The steamboat Prairie had just arrived from St. Louis 
loaded with lead. Her upper works, down to the deck, were 
swept off, and the whole of the passengers and crew are sup- 
posed to have been drowned. 

The number of passengers is not known, but four ladies at 
least were seen on board a short time before the disaster. 

The steaml)oat H. Lawrence and a sloop were in a somewhat 
sheltered position at the cotton press. They were severely 
damaged but not sunk. The steam ferry-boat was sunk, and 
the wharf-boat Mississippian, which was used as a hotel, 
grocery, etc. 

Of 120 fiat-boats which lay at the landing all were lost ex- 
cept four, but many of the men employed on board were 
saved." 

The facts in this case were bad enough, but have been 
doubtless exaggerated by this reporter, whoever he may have 
been . 

This writer left Natchez at 3 o'clock on the day of the 
storm, on the steamer ]\Iaid of Orleans, bound down 
stream, and had just made the turn going towards Ellis Cliffs^ 
15 miles below Natchez, when the cyclone passed up. While 
we were not within its direct course, the storm was so severe 
we landed and lay all night near the clifTs. 

The first that was known of the severity of it was from the 
appearence of the Prairie, which passed down just after day- 
light, and before we started. 

Her upper works were wrecked, chimneys down, pilot house 
gone, and a part of the hurricane roof. They had rigged up 
the stumps of the chimne3^s, one of which was about ten feet 
longer than the other, and the [)il<)t stood out-doors. 

As the machinery and wheels were not damaged they 
managed to get her to New Orleans, where she was repaired. 
I was well acquainted with the captain and most of the officers, 
and am under the impressif)n there was no one lost on the 
Prairie instead of everybody as stated above. 

The steamer Hinds was capsized at the landing and the 
hull was found several weeks later 150 miles below, or near 
Baton Rouge. It seems difficnlt to understand how so large a 
number as 51 dead bodies could have been found in the hold 
of the boat. But they must have been in the hold if any- 
where, as it was found bottom-np with the upper works gone. 

The Hinds was laying at Natchez taking in cargo, and 
instead of going into the hold the crew would have been more 
probable to have I'un on shore when the storm struck them ;. 
so too, with the flat-boats. One hundred is a great man^\. 



STOKM IN NEW ORLEANS IN 1888. 363- 

but what there was of them were destroyed, with everything 
else " under the hill," and two entire >qnares of brick build- 
ings on top of the hill, and many .-ingle buildings, trees, 
fences, etc., as well as many lives. 

The storm seemed to have struck the foot of Natchez 
Ishmd first, which was then covered with a heavy growth of 
3'oung cotton wood, from three to six inches in diameter. 
They were cut off 8 or 10 feet from the ground as clean and 
as evenly as could have been done with an ax', and at a little 
distance resembled a big field of corn, with the fodder just 
cut, much moi'e than a young forest of cottonwood prostrated. 

The uniformity with which the whole island was swept was 
the principal novelty. 

There has been no storm on the Mississippi so destructive as 
this one at Natchez in 1840, until the great storm at New Or- 
leans and vicinity in August, 1888. 

This one continued for three days with more or less vio- 
lence, rain falling in torrents most of the time. 

Several steai^iboats were wrecked, some entirely lost, and 
175 loaded coal bo.it? sunk. These belonged principally to 
the Pittsburgh Southern Coal Co., and were valued at 
$250,000. Other property to an equ:dly large amount was 
destroyed and several lives were lost. 

The new steamboat Teche, Capt. L. T. Belt, was caught in 
the ^torm some sixty miles above New Orleans, and was 
for several hours at the mercy of the winds and badly 
wrecked. Nothing but the fact that she was i)e\v and a very 
staunch boat saved her and many lives from destruction. 

CHOLERA AT ST. LOUIS THE GREAT FIRE IN 1849. 

[From Sketch Book of St. Louis.] 
THE CHOLERA. 

"Late in the fall, in 1848, that dreadful scourge — the 
cholera, made its appearance in our midst and began its work 
of death. The approach of cold weather stayed in a great 
measure, the ravages of the disease, although we heard 
during the winter occasionally of cases. But as the genial 
smiles of spring began to fall upon the city, the disease de- 
Iveloped itself in full force, and like the famishing wolf, whose 
lappetite is whetted by the taste of blood, it was doubly fierce 
[and unsparing. 

The general cry was : " Hush up ! Don't alarm the people. 



364 Gould's history of river navigation. 

You will frighten them into the disease. It is all humbug. 
It is only a slight sickness among deck hands and poor 
laborers, who eat poor food and live in badly ventilated 
houses," etc., etc., and so it was determined to ignore and 
discredit the existence of the disease. 

But the formidable and insidious malady would not consent 
to be ignored. 

All the while it was furtively and gradually disseminating its 
poison, sowing the seeds of a rich harvest of death — tilling up 
the wards of the city hospital and thinning the crowds of 
laborers on the levee. 

The very small number of our citizens who took the trouble 
to examine the statistics began to be alarmed, but they were 
frowned down as panic makers, and the disease — the exist- 
ence of which was admitted, was pronounced to be ship fever, 
which threatened only sailors and steamboat men. 

The disease soon assumed a more bold and formidable 
appearance, and instead of stalking through lanes and dirty 
alleys it boldly walked the streets. 

It was proclaimed in a thousand forms of gloom, sorrow, 
desolation and death. Funeral processions crowded every 
street. No vehicles could be seen except doctors' cabs and 
coaches, passing to and fro from the cemeteries, and hearses, 
often solitary, making their way to those gloomy destinations. 
The hum of trade was hushed, the levee was a desert. 

The streets wont to shine with fashion and beauty, were si- 
lent. The tombs, the homes of the dead, were the only places 
where there was life — where crowds assembled, where the 
incessant ruml)ling of carriages, the trampling of feet, the 
murmur of voices and the signs of active, stirring life could 
be seen and heard. Physicians were kept constantly on the 
move — on visits of many going hither and thither, with no 
hope of fee or reward, except that which will be awarded 
them in an after world. 

Some reeled through the streets like drunken men from 
sheer fatigue and exhaustion. Many touched not a bed for 
weeks. To realize the full horror and virulence of the pesti- 
lence it was necessary to go into the crowded localities of 
the laboring classes, where the emigrant classes cluster to- 
gether in filth and without ventilation. 

Here you would see the dead and the dying, the sick and 
the convalescent in one and the same bed. Father, mother 
child, dying in one another's arms. 

Whole families were swept off in a few hours, with none 
left to mourn or to procure burial. 



23 STEAMBOATS BURNED AT ST. LOUIS. 365 

Offensive odors often drew neighbors to witness such re- 
volting spectacles ! What a terrible disease. Terrible in its 
insidious character, in its treachery, in the quiet, serpent>-like 
manner in which it winds itself around its victim, beojiiiles him 
by its deceptive wiles, cheats him of his senses, and then con- 
signs to grim death. Not like the plague with its red spot, 
and maddening fever, its wild delirium, but with guise so de- 
cejjtive that none fear the danger until it is too late — it 
marches on ! 

While the disease was raging at its fiercest, the city was 
doomed to another horror — the city was burnt — fifteen 
squares were laid in ashes. The fire commenced on the 
steamer White Cloud, laying between Wash and Cherry 
streets. The wind was blowing fiercely on shore, which fact 
contributed materially to the extent of the marine disaster, 
and although the lines of all the boats were cut and hauled in, 
and they shoved out into the current, the burning boat seemed 
to outstrip them all, with the speed with which she floated 
down the river, and in perhaps thirty minutes after the fire 
broke out, twenty-three steamboats had been abandoned to the 
prey of the flames and a half a million dollars' worth of 
property had been destroyed. So devastating a fire had never 
before been known in the United States. 

It was a scene for a painter; which may not have been pre- 
served, but which may be pictured by any one having a taste 
for the wild and the wonderful — the fantastic forms and 
tracing presented in flaming boats, the island forest, the 
houses and the hills in the distance on the Illinois shore, the 
numberless warehouses, and the thousands of persons lining 
the wharf. 

Fifteen blocks of houses were burned or seriously damaged, 
causing the loss of ten million dollars. The fire was finally 
extinguished by blowing up several houses with powder, 
but in doino; thsit several lives were lost althouijh great care 
was taken to give timely warning. The list of sufferers made 
eight or ten columns in the Missouri Republican. 

The following are the names of the boats burned: — 

American Eagle, Cossen, Master; Keokuk and Upper 
Mississippi packet ; valued at $14,000; total loss; insured at 
Pittsburgh for $3,500 ; no c:irgo. 

Alice, Kennett, Master; Missouri river packet; valued at 
$18,000; total loss; insured for $12,000— $9,000 in city 
olBges, balance in the E.ist ; cargo valued at $1,000. 

Alexander Hamilton, Hooper, Master; Missouri river pack- 



366 Gould's history of river navigation. 

et ; valued at $15,000; total loss; insured for $10,500 in 
Eastern offices; no cargo. 

Acadia, John Russell, Master ; Illinois river packet; val- 
ued $4,000 ; total loss; fully insured in Eastern offices ; cargo 
valued at $1,000. 

Boreas, Bernard, Master; Missouri river packet; valued at 
$14,500 ; total loss; insured for $11,500 in this city ; no cargo. 

Belle Isle, Smith, Master ; New Orleans trade; valued at 
$10,000 ; total loss ; insured at $8,000 in New Orleans offices; 
no cargo. 

Eliza Stewart, H. McKee, Master ; Missouri packet ; val- 
ued at $9,000 ; insured for near full value. 

Eudora, Ealer, Master; St. Louis and New Orleans trade; 
valued at $16,000; total loss ; insured for $10,500 ; no cargo. 

Edward Bates, Randolph, Master; Keokuk packet ; val- 
ued at $22,500; insured for $15,000. 

Frolic (Tow boat), Ringling, Master ; valued at $15,000 ; 
no insurance. 

Geu'l Brooke (Tow boat), Ringling, Master; valued at 
$1,500; no insurance. 

Kit Carson, Goddin, Master; Missouri river packet; valued 
at $16,000; insured for $8,000. 

Mameluke, Smithers, Master; New Orleans and St. Louis 
trade; valued at $30,000 ; insured for $20,000 ; no cargo. 

Mandan, Beers, Master; Missouri river; valued at $14,- 
000; insured for $10,500; no cargo, 

Montauk, Morehouse, Master ; upper Mississippi; valued 
at $16,000 ; insured for $10,000 ; cargo valued at $8,000. 

Martha, Finch, Master; Missouri river; valued at $10,000; 
fully insured ; cargo valued at $30,000; also insured. 

Prairie State, Baldwin, Master ; Illinois river packet ; val- 
ued at $26,000; insured for $18,000; cargo valued at $3,000. 

Red VVing, Barger, Master; Upper Mississippi trade ; valued 
at $6,000 ; no insurance ; cargo valued at $3,000, 

St. Peters, Ward, Master; Upper Mississippi trade; val- 
ued at $12,000 ; insured for $9,000 ; no cargo. 

Sarah, Youn<r, Master; St. Louis and New Orleans trade ; 
valued at $35,000; insured for $20,000; cargo valued at 
$30,000. 

Tagliona, Marshall, Master ; Pittsburg and St. Louis trade ; 
valued at $20,000 ; insured for full value; cargo valued at 
$12,000. 

Timore, Miller, Master ; Missouri river trade; valued at 
$25,000 ; insured for $10,000 ; cargo valued at $6,000. 

White Cloud, Adams, Master; St. Louis and New Or- 
leans trade ; valued at $3,000 ; fully insured ; no cargo. 



3G7 



CHAPTEK Liy. 

STEAMBOATS AND PACKET COMPAXIES. 

THE writer of the following communication will be recog- 
nized by many old boatmen and citizens of Cincinnati as' 
among the earlier boatmen running out of that port in the 
trades on the Ohio above that city. His recollections will, of 
course, revive that of the few of his associates who still re- 
main and bring to mind some pleasant reminiscences of the 
past, and of many old boats long since fogotten. 

All will unite with this writer in thanking Capt. D. F. Bar- 
ker for his kind effort to awaken pleasant recollections of 
events half a century ago : — 

CoxcoRD, Mass., Nov. 21st, 1888. 
Capt. E. W. Gould, St. Louis: 

Dear Sir — My brother, J. H. Barker, tells me you pro- 
pose publishing a history of old steamboat times, such as 
names of packets, when and by whom established, etc. As I 
was identified with some of the early packets in the Maysville 
and Portsmouth trade, my brother thinks I could give you 
some items that you might be able to use. 

In June, 1836, Capt. Grafton Molen and James Walls 
bought of Jacob Strader the steamboat Svviftsure, and put her 
in the packet trade to Maysville. Previous to that time the 
trade had been supplied irregularly by several owners of 
boats, but the advent of Captain Molen with the Svviftsure 
may well be claimed as the beginning of what now is the 
widely known and influential packet line doing most of the 
business between Cincinnati, Maysville, Portsmouth and Big 
Sandy. 

The Svviftsure was less than 100 tons measurement; built 
by Strader in 1833 for the Guyandotte trade ; but a short time 
before completed. Strader sold one of his Cincinnati and 
Louisville packets to go to Mobile, so he put the Svviftsure in 
the Louisville trade until the first double engine, Ben Frank- 
lin, could be finished. When Molen entered the Maysville 
trade with the Svviftsure, the Lady Scott, owned by the 
Woods of Maysville, had been in the trade for several 
months. The Lady Scott was originally a canal boat and left 
the' trade in a short time after the Svviftsure entered it. 



368 Gould's HiSTORr or river navigation. 

There were a number of boats built ostensibly for the trade- 
between 1836 and 1840, but which did not continue lono^ in it. 
The Casket, built at Ripley, by Capt. John Moore ; Rubicon, 
by a number of Maysville merchants ; Naples, by the Woods' 
family, and the Fairplay, by Capt. John Moore. 

In 1839, Molen and Walls built the Mail, which proved too 
large and only rau a few months and was sold to Strader la 
1840. In the fall of 1840, Molen put in the trade the second 
Swiftsure which remained until 1842, when she weut into the 
Pittsburgh line, returning to the Maysville trade in 1844. 
From 1840 to 1844, besides the Swiftsure, there were the 
Fairplay, Capt. John Ellison; Indiana, Capt. John Harland ; 
the Pilot, Capt. Wm. McClain. In 1844, Molen built and put 
in the trade the Daniel Boone and McClain put in the Simon 
Kenton. McClain sold the Simon Kenton to Strader in 1847, 
and the Circassian, Capt. John Ballenger, took her place in the 
trade. In 1848, a stock company was formed called the Cin- 
cinnati and Maysville Packet Co., two new boats having been 
built for the trade — Boone, Capt. Molen, and Kenton, Capt. 
McClain. About 1855 or '56, the Scioto, No. 2, Capt. 
Keppner, then in the Portsmouth trade, was bought and 
the name of the company was changed to Cincinnati, 
Maysville and Portsmouth Packet Co., and so continued 
until 1859, when the company dissolved and the boats sold to 
individual members of the company who continued some of 
the boats in their respective trades. 

My connection' Avith the trades then ceased. 

If you can make use of any of the above you are at liberty 
to do so. Very respectfully, D. F. Barker. 

NEW ORLEANS AND OHIO RIVER ORGANIZATIONS. 

In 1858, there Avere more and better arrangements for 
regularity and punctuality in steamboat management than had 
ever before existed on all Western rivers. 

In addition to the " Railroad Line " from St. Louis to 
Nesv Orleans, there was organized to run from Louisville to 
New Orleans what Avas known as the " Lightning Line," con- 
sisting of some of the fastest and best boats then running, 
among Avhich Avas the Robert J. Ward, Capt. Silas Miller ; 
Diana, E. T. Sturgon; Baltic, C. H. Meekin ; John 
Raine, W. Underwood; Antelope, E. Brown; Pacific, 
A. McGill, Woodford, Moses Erwin; Jas. Montgomery ;- 
Samuel Montgomery ; Fanny Bullitt, S. B. Durham ; E. H. 
Fairchild, I. H. B Fawcett 



CINCINNATI AND NEW ORLEANS EXPRESS LINE. 369 

While this was only a joint arransement and each boat was 
managed by its owner, it was well arranged and run with regu- 
larity and was very popular with the traveling public. It was 
maintained until the war, but never re-organized afterwards. 

At Cincinnati a good line was organized on the same basis 
as the Louisville and New Orleans. It was known as the 
" Cincinnati and New Orleans Express Line" and was com- 
posed of the following boats : Switzerland, Captain J, P. 
Schenk; Ohio Belle, Captain John Sebastian ; Monarch, Cap- 
tain John A. Williamson; Tecumseh, Captain F. F. Logan; 
Judge Torrence, Captain R. M. Wade; Susquehanna, Captain 
O. C. Williamson; Madison, Captain G. D. Hoople; Universe, 
Captain Albert Stine ; Nick Thomas, Captain John A. Duble; 
Queen of the West, Captain J. P. Wade. 

These were what was known as short boats, and could pass 
the locks in the Louisiana canal — were not fast, but of large 
carrying capacity, with fine accommodations for passengers, 
and their tables were furnished equal to a first-class hotel. 
They were run on schedule time and maintained uniform rates 
of freight. Their regularity, promptness and good manage- 
ment was such an improvement upon the former style of run- 
ning Cincinnati boats engaged in the New Orleans trade, that 
they, soon secured a popularity that promised very satisfactory 
results. They were even an important factor in establishing 
rates of freight with the railroads and were really at that time 
the regulators of that traffic. 

But two years later the war came, and not only destroyed 
all legitimate commerce between the North and South for four 
long years, but forever destroyed the hopes of that generation 
of boatmen of ever again establishing the supremacy of river 
transportation — from causes originating in the results of the 
war, which gave to railroads the ascendancy which they would 
not have attained in many years. The boats and the boatmen 
were alike scattered, and many of both destroyed, and whoa 
the war closed and government transportation no longer fur- 
nished employment, another and a more vital war was inaugur- 
ated — o, war for bread. No industry suffered so much — no 
class in the community was so illy prepared to meet the emer- 
gency. From education and from habit, boatmen, as a rule, 
knew no other occupation — wanted to know no other, k few 
of the more enterprising embarked in other pursuits with va 
ryiug degrees of success. 

Another portion collected their exhausted energies and re- 
maining resources and attempted to recover what was lost by 
purchasing from the government repairing and rebuilding 

24 



370 Gould's history of river navigation. 

what remained of the old boats, and with them attempted to 
re-establish what had once been legitimate and profitable lines 
of boats. Tn some few instances they succeeded, and are to- 
day their own successors, after the lapse of many years and 
many struggles and conHicts with their powerful rivals. An- 
other and perhaps the most numerous class that time has dealt 
more gently with than has fortune, are still waiting and watch- 
ing for the *' shadows to a little longer grow " before attempt- 
ing to launch their frail barques upon the unknown waters 
across the river, while the well known waters upon which the 
best years of their lives have been spent have proved so full 
of wrecks, rocks and disasters. 

CINCINNATI AND LOUISVILLE aiAIL LINE. 

Long previous to 1858, however, many flourishing steam- 
boat organizations were in successful operation on the Ohio 
and its tributaries. The " Cincinnati and Louisville Mail 
Line, "organized in 1818, the first steam packet company of 
which there is any record. 

In 1847 this company increased its stock and extended its 
line from Louisville to St. Louis. Adding the following boats : 
Southerner (low pressure), Capt. Catterlin; Northerner (low 
pressure), Capt. Erwin; Ben Franklin, Capt. Dollis ; Mosts 
McClellan, Capt. Barker; High Flyer, Capt. Wright; Fash- 
ion No. 2, Capt. Reed ; Alvin Adams, Capt. Boies. 

This constituted a daily line of first-class passenger boats be- 
tween Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis. 

The Jacob Strader (low pressure) and the Telegraph No. 3 
were the connecting boats at Louisville. The Strader was 
the largest boat ever constructed to run above the falls, and 
the most expensive. Her cabin accommodations exceeded any 
other boat ever built on the Western waters. She would ac- 
commodate with state rooms some four hundred passengers. 

The connecting boats below the falls were of large capacity, 
and their recorded time was very fiist. Reducing the former 
time between Louisville and St. Louis, from three days to 89 
and 44 hours, and before the completion of a railroad the 
travel on these boats was immense. 

LOUISVILLE PACKET COMPANIES. 

Louisville was also the home port for several lines of boats 
beside that of the great and popular passenger line to New 
Orleans. 

Notably the " Henderson Packet Company," the Louisville 
and Wheeling line of fast passenger boats, in connection with 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, known as the Union Packet 



FIRST STEAMBOATS. 371 

Company. This line was organized in 1852, and composed of 
the following elegant steamers: — 

Alvin Adams, David AVhite, Thomas Swan, Baltimore, 
Falls City, Virginia and City of Wheeling. 

STEAMBOATS BUILT A LONG TIME AGO. 

(From the Pittsburgh Dispatch, 18th.) 
I have read with great pleasure a number of your old time 
boating items, our whole family of males having been engaged 
on the river, commencing with keel-boating, and when they 
disappeared, took to steamboating. The following list has 
never been in print : — 

THE FIRST BOATS BUILT AT PITTSBURGH. 

1811 — Orleans, built at Sucks Run, on the site where the 
Pan Handle Railroad bridge crosses the Monongahela River. 
1814 — Vesuvius, Etna. 

1815 — 'New Orleans ; only boat built that 3^ear. 

1816 — James Monroe, Buffalo. 

1817 — Franklin, James Madison, Gen. Jackson. 

1818 — Alleghany, Expedition, James Ross, St. Louis, 
Tamerlane, Tom Jefferson. 

1819 — Western Engineer, Telegraph, Rapides, Olive 
Branch, Dolphin, Cumberland, Car of Commerce, Balize 
Packet. 

I have lost the record of building in 1820 and 1821. 

1822 — Favorite, Gen. Neville. 

1823 — Rambler, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and St. Louis Packet; 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 

1824 — American, Herald, President. 

1825 — Bolivar, Friendship, Gen. Brown, Gen. Wayne, 
Lafayette, Pocahontas, Wm. Penn. 

1826 — America, New York, Echo, Erie, Fame, Commerce, 
Columbus, Messenger, Liberator, Lady Washington, Jubilee,, 
Illinois, Hercules, Gen. Coffee, Florida, De Witt Clinton. 

1827 — Wm. D. Duncan, Pennsylvania, New Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Essex. 

1828 — Baltimore, Cumberland, Delaware, Missouri, Nep- 
tune, North America, Potomac, Phoenix, Star, Powhattan, 
Plaquemine, Red River, Stranger, Talisman. You will per- 
ceive that boat-building has steadily increased. 

1829 — Citizen, Cora, Corsair, Caroline, Huntsville, Home, 
Huntsman, Hudson, Industry, Huron, James O'Hara, Ken- 
tucky, Link, Mohican, Monticello, Nile, Red Rover, The 
latter boat measured 500 tons, and was the largest boat built 
up to that time. Rhuhama, Talma, Trenton, Talgho, Tariff, 



372 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Uncle Sam, Victory, being twenty-four steamers built that 
year. 

1830 — Sam Patch, Peruvian, Olive, Mobile, New Jersey, 
Hatchie, Eagle, Gleaner, Gondola, Enterprise, Abeona. 

A. D. R. 

PITTSBURGH BOATS AND BOATMEN. 

Pittsburg Dispatch: In 1850-2, just prior to the opening of 
the railroad eraat Pittsburgh, there were three principal packet 
lines running to Brownsville, Cincinnati and St. Louis. In the 
first line were the packets Louis McLain, Consul, Baltic and 
Atlantic, and the captains of that day were Adam Jacobs, Sam 
Clark, James Parkinson, Isaac Woodward and Elisha Bennett. 
Running in the Pittsburg and St. Louis trade were the John C. 
Fremont, Caledonia, Persia, Aliquippa, Anglo-Saxon, Alma, 
Niagara, Hindoo, Shenandoah, Arctic, Isaac Newton, Paul 
Anderson, Manchester, Keystone, Ben West, Honduras and 
Cambria. The captains were M. A. Cox, William Forsythe, 
Hiram Price, George W. Bowman, Hugh Campbell, Thomas 
and Robert Greenlee, Benjamin Hutchinson, James Gormley, 
Eph. Butcher, William Connelly, John and Henry Devinney, 
Jake Hazlett, George Cochran, Jake and Adam Poe, T. J. 
Stockdale, R. C. Gray, Dick Calhoon, Joseph Smith and A. G. 
Mason. The Cincinnati boats were the Monongahela, Key- 
stone State, Alleghany, New England, Messenger, Brilliant, 
Crystal Palace, Clipper and Buckeye State, and the captains 
were Charles W. Batchelor, W. J. Kountz, R. C. Gray, 
Charles Stephen, Daniel Stone, John Klinefelter, R. J. Grace, 
Samuel Reno, Melchoir W. Beltzhoover and James Fisher. 
These boats, as a rule, drew four feet of water without cargo, 
and oray-haired rivermen say that in those days they always 
looked for boating at least ten months in the year, from Septem- 
ber until June. They attribute the contraction of the boating 
season to its present limited period to the destruction of the 
forests and the absorption of the rainfall by the soil. River- 
men did not always believe in the expediency of building their 
boats to the length of 300 feet. Indeed in 1833 there was 
quite a rumpus about the length of the Wacousta, between 
J;ike Arnold and Pete Dohrman, two of the pioneers. Jake 
wanted to make her 120 feet long, but Pete vowed he would 
never go into her wheel-house if she went over 110 feet, 
as she would surely capsize. How little foundation there was 
for orood Peter's fears can be realized when he remembers 
that the Great Republic, built here in 1867, Avas 350 feet long, 
and 48-feet in the beam, or just three times the dimensions of 
the Wacousta. One could fill a volume of the most capaciou 



CAPT. C. W. BATCHELOR AND JACK QUICK. 373 

proportions with the stories of the old time river captains, and 
yet not adequately cover the subject. Many there are who 
will recall the disastrous fate of the steamboat Americus, that 
was launched on a Friday, thus setting at defiance one of tiie 
most firmly rooted superstitions of watermen of all clime:-,. 
She was commanded by Capt. Charles \V. Batchelor, and all 
went well with her until one day, while going up the Illinois 
River, Capt. Batchelor was standing in the wheel house with 
Pilot Jack Quick, a sad sea dog. There was a hail from the 
shore, and looking around, they descried a man sitting on a 
white horse. The nose of the boat was turned toward the 
bank, much against Jack Quick's inclination. Said he : " See 
here, Cap'n, if that 'ere man with the white boss should be a 
preacher, this boat' 11 Inirn afore mornin'." And so the man 
turned out to be a preacher, and so, sure enough, the boat 
took fire and was burned, and it was all on account of her be- 
ing launched on a Friday, and because she met a preacher 
with a white horse. So goes the tale, as reeled off by an an- 
cient man of the wheel. 

STEAMBOATS, KEEL-BOATS AND PETTIFOGGERS. 

Portsmouth Tribune: Much has been written in newspapers 
about river men, and men applauded that started in where 
their fathers or some wealthy relative or friend left off, while 
men that commenced on the keel-boat, at the oar and setting- 
pole at fifty cents per day and came up to be men of wealth 
and standing amongst business men, have been entirely for- 
gotten. The men that first opened up navigation on the Ohio 
river from Pittsburgh to Louisville, at the falls of the great 
Ohio, should not be allowed to die unseen, unheard of and 
forever forgotten. Such men as studied the channel of the 
river, marked it out by clumps of trees and by notches in the 
hills bordering on this beautiful river, many of whom lived to 
build, own and command good steamboats and navigated the 
Ohio and Mississippi and their tributaries. These men did 
not have the advantages that the captains (or bell-ringers) of the 
present day have. They had no wharfboats, no clean landing 
to discharge their cargoes on. They did not have any freight 
agent on shore to solicit freight and telegraph them at the 
different points on the river what was proper to do for their 
advantage, but they must go it alone and manage their own 
boat, get their freight, build up a good reputation for them- 
selves and their boats by their industry, economy, fair deal- 
ing, and honesty. In those days there was not one suit against 
a steamboat and owners to 150 these days. We know that 
there was not so many boats in those days as now, nor half so 



374 Gould's history of river navigation. 

many pettifoggers to urge on a litigation. I have only to notice 
some old timers about \yiieeling, W. Va. Others will be 
noticed at another time. I am writing from memory what I 
have seen and what I know to be facts, but I have no correct 
dates. I propose to name men that commenced at the foot of 
the ladder and went to the top before God called them home. 
They sleep, but the channel they found in the Upper Ohio and 
followed for years will be navigated until time itself will be 
no more. These men, though gone, should be kept in mind 
by the young steamboatmen that are coming up to navigate 
the Ohio the next fifty years: Hamilton Dobbin, "William 
Cecil, Wash Johnston, Capt. Boothe, Samuel Mason, Henry 
Mason, Jerry Mason, Jim Louderback, Bolden Biddle, Hugh 
McLain, John McLain, Charles McLain, Alex. McLain and 
Wm. and Samuel Dean, Hiram Burch, of Marietta, Wm. Keat- 
ing, James Patterson, Samuel Beemer, William Stoneman, — 
Greathouse and Bazel Roades. Capt. Dobbin built and run 
keel-boats and a number of small steamers. The last two boats 
he constructed were the Robert Emmett and Tuscumbia al)out 
1827. Capt. Cecil built the Monticello, and after her he built 
the Jefferson, at Big Grave Creek, twelve miles below Wheel- 
ing, where he lived and died. Capt. Samuel Mason com- 
menced on the river as a pushing hand on one of Capt. Cecil's 
keel-boats; was a deck-hand on the Jefferson and other boats. 
He soon got to the wheel on the steamers and was called a 
good pilot. He gained the reputation of being a good 
boatman, and having some business turn, he married Capt. 
Cecil's daughter. He and Cecil built the Roanoke. Mason 
was very successful in making money with her. After one 
year they sold the Roanoke and built the Reliance. She was 
a fine and very fast boat. Sam. Mason commanded. He was 
the man to push her, and coined money with her. After they 
got the cream off of her they sold her to some St. Louis men 
at a big figure, on account of her speed, as Pat. Rogers used 
to say when speaking of a fast boat. She could whack'em. 
The Reliance never did swim in steam water long at a time 
when Rube Tuscan or Tom Wilson was at the throttle valve. 
After the Reliance Cecil and Mason brought out the light 
draught William Penn, She was fast and made money. After 
a lucky run, they sold her into the Cincinnati and Rising Sun 
trade and built the Bertram. She did not pay so well as the 
others. She was sold to run in Bayou Teche, La. They then 
brought out the Saint Cloud, Capt. Sam Mason, John List, 
clerk (a good team.) In time she was sold. Mason was on 
the Falls City, in the Union Line since that time, and has 
commanded a number of boats. He died in lb84. It may 



CAPT. SAM MASON AND THE JAGGER OE WHISKEY. 375 

not be amiss to give some incidents of Capt. Sum Mason's 
life. He was always in a hurry. Lost time in a fog worried 
him because he would not get his passengers in port before u 
dinner or a supper as he had figured on. When aground he 
never slept. The Saint Cloud, loaded with sugar and molasses, 
at Capatina, sixteen miles below Wheeling, grounded and the 
molasses was lighted into a flat-boat and towed over the bar. 
While getting over the flat shipped about two feet of water. 
The boat was lashed to the steamer, and pumps set to work. 
The tackle was backed down from the derrick-head with cant 
hooks to hoist out the molasses. The ice was freezing on the 
water's surface. The men refused to go in the water to hook 
on the barrels. Mason came out, and seeing nothing doing, 
asked what was the matter. The mate answered, " I can't 
get a man to go in and hook on." The Captain took in the 
situation in a moment, and sung out, "Bar-keeper, bring me 
a pitcher of whisky and a tin-cup." The bar-keeper did as 
ordered. Mason poured out one-half tin full of the whisky 
and drank it down, and then jumped into the water and 
hooked on a barrel. After he had hooked on to three barrels, 
a big son of Erin stepped up to the bar-keeper and said, 
"Give me the full of that cup, and it's me that will stand 
before the cant hooks till the barrels is out." The Irishman 
drank the whiskey, and jumped into the work. The Captain 
said, "Well, Pat, are you here?" " Yis, sir, it's me. I 
bate yees half the full of the cup. Now, away wid ye; get 
dry pants on yees, and sind me another jagger immejetly." 
The barrels were soon all out. 

another interesting letter erom an old boatman. 

Newton, Mass., Nov. 28, 1888. 

Capt. E. W. Gould, /St. Louis, Mo. — 

Dear Sir: About all the information I will be able to give 
in relation to " early navigation," on the Western and South- 
ern rivers, will be from memory. My beginning was in the 
year 1830, at which period there were no organized compa- 
nies owning steamboats beyond those enterprising citizens, 
whose holding of steamboat stock, seldom reached over more 
than one boat. In the trade between Cincinnati, Louisville 
and New Orleans, there were boats with names as follows, 
to wit: — Henry Clay, Splendid, Farmer, Orleans, Louisiana, 
Homer (three decker), there being accommodation above the 
cabins for deck passengers to this latter boat. Signal (low 



376 Gould's history of river navigation. 

pressure), Philadelphia, (low pressure), Kentuckian, Bonnets, 
O'Blue, Samson, (without a p), Bellfast, Hudson, Constitu- 
tion, Huntsman, Red River, Convoy, Scotland, Superior, Cin- 
cinnatian (low pressure), Ohio, Chesapeake, Reaper, Polander-, 
Arab, Helen McGregor, Uncle Sum, Tuscarora. This boat 
was the first that made the trip from jSew Orleans to Louis- 
ville inside of eight days. Her time being seven days and 
sixteen hours. Ttys voyage vvas made in spring of 1834. 

There were quite a number of boats running from Pitts- 
burgh to Cincinnati, Louisville and occasionally St. Louis, 
the latter city containing only 6,000 inhabitants in 1830. 
There were boats running to Nashville on the Cumberland 
and to Florence and Tuscumbia on the Tennessee Rivers, and 
in the spring of the year boats would load to Lafayette, Terre 
Haute and Logansport on the Wabash. At that period Mem- 
phis had no boats running to it. Occasionally a boat would 
load for Little Rock. 

The first combination or consolidation of steamboat stock 
was made at Louisville in the summer of 1832. A contract 
for carrying the mail between Louisville and New Orleans by 
the river was given to Charles M. Strader and others. Meet- 
ings were held for the attendance of owners of steamboat stock, 
suitable for New Orleans trade. The boats were valued by 
parties interested. Had their own agents at Cincinnati and 
Louisville. Capt. Samuel Perry, and Levi James, at Cincin- 
nati, and Chas. M. Strader and Henry Forsythe at Louisville. 
Supposing they had control of all boats, which were suitable for 
the New Orleans trade for carrying freight and passengers, 
they could be independent, and deemed it unnecessary to employ 
the old agents, Wm. D. Jones of Cincinnati, and J. C. Buckles 
at Louisville; were good business men, well liked and had 
been active steamboat agents for all trades on the river. This 
was where the great monopoly made its first mistake. In place 
of ignoring these men, they should have been made the agents 
of the " Ohio & Mississippi Mail Line Co." " O. & M. Mail 
Line Co.," was on the side of their wheel houses. Messrs. 
Levi James and Samuel Perry were old captains in the trades, 
their two sons were made captains. 

The arrangement resulted in disaster, i.e., the line made 
no money for the reason that Messrs. Jones and Buckles would 
induce every owner of a steamboat of carrying capacity of 
200 tons, and who were out of the '' O. & M. Mail Line " to 
send or bring their boats to Cincinnati or Louisville, and load 
for New Orleans, that the monopoly was in bad odor with 
shippers, etc. , 



THE FIRST REGULAR BOAT BETWEEN CIN . & LOUISVILLE. 377 

The consequence was that in place of pork paying $1.50 per 
barrel, it was carried for 37i cts., everything else in proportion. 
At the end of the season the compact ended, and each and 
every owner took his boat back. The season following 
was successful, and boat owners did well till the panic in busi- 
ness which began in 1837 continued till the '40s. 

The first reorular boat in the trade between Cincinnati and 
Louisville was the General Pike, built at Cincinnati in 1818. 
Her first commander was Capt. Bliss. In 1821, Jacob Strader 
was made captain and James Gorman was clerk. The trade 
of this boat was between Cincinnati and Louisville, but occa- 
sionally her trips were extended as far as Maysville, Ky. In 
1825 the (low pressure j Ben Franklin was built, commenced 
running in 1826, between Cincinnati and Louisville, not on 
regular days but as often as required. This being before the 
canal at Louisville was built, would load at Cincinnati with 
produce and reship at Louisville, wait at the latter city till an 
arrival of a New Orleans boat, then load for a return trip. 
The Ben Franklin was owned by Capt. Jacob Strader, James 
Gorman, Philip Grandon, James Kelly (engineer of boat), 
and others. 

Capt. John Blair Summons, who for many subsequent years 
was a successful captain of the boats in the Cincinnati and 
Louisville Mail Line, was mate and pilot. John Wesley 
Brown was also a young pilot of the Ben Franklin. Messrs. 
Strader and Gorman retired from running as officers of steam- 
boats in 1831. The boat being well along in years was sold 
to Robt. G. Ormsby, of Louisville, with Edward Carroll as 
captain, and James M. Noble (now living) was clerk. 

Two Virginians, named Porter and Beldon, succeeded in 
obtaining contracts for carrying the mails in Virginia from 
Guyandotte on the river and from other points through Char- 
lottesville, White Sulphur Springs, etc., to Richmond and 
Washington City, and by river to Cincinnati from Guyan- 
dotte four times a week, and intermediate points. Also from 
Cincinnati to Louisville and intermediate points daily. This 
was in 1830 and 1831. They also contracted to transport the 
mails between New Orleans and Mobile by steamboat. Two 
boats being built at Cincinnati for the purpose, one was 
named Star of the West, the other, William S. Barry, W. F. 
B. being the Postmaster-General. 

Capt. Strader having retired from the river, but familiar 
with river business, was made the business manager of the 
boats, making regular trips four times a week between Cin- 
cinnati and Guyandotte and daily between Cincinnati and 



378 Gould's history of kiver navigation. 

Louisville. The United Stales Mail Line he2;an running 
every day in 1831. The contractors at this time owned only 
two boats for this Ohio River service, the steamers Guyan- 
dotte and Portsmouth. The town of Portsmouth, 112 miles 
above Cincinnati, had about this time become a very import- 
ant point, it being the southern terminus of the Great Ohio 
Canal, commencing atCleveland and ending at Portsmouth, and 
proved a valuable support of the boats. At this period there 
were no railroads in the whole United States, except the one 
from New Orleans to the lake, about four miles in length, and 
one other — the Baltimore end of the Baltimore & Ohio road, 
fifteen miles long to EUicott's Mills. This much of the B. & 
O. road was finished and put in use as early as 1827. Cars 
being run by horse power. For the Guyandotte and Ports- 
mouth trade two boats were built, the Guyandotte in 1831 
'and Portsmouth in 1832. The latter boat proved to be un- 
necessarily large and expensive for the trade, and early in 
1833 was placed in the Cincinnati and Louisville trade, the 
Helen Marr taking her place to Guyandotte. The mail line 
between Cincinnati and Louisville was maintained by boats 
chartered or they were given a day in consideration of their 
making no charge for carrying the mail. Until 1834 it re- 
quired three boats to keep up a daily service. The Cham- 
plain, Messenger, Robt. Fulton, and Portsmouth were mostly 
in the trade till 1834. About this time Capt. Strader bought 
all the interest of Messrs. Porter and Belden and became the 
principal owner. Early this year (1834) a new boat was put 
in the trade (I mean now the Cincinnati and Louisville Mail 
Line), named Ben Franklin, was very fast, single engine, 5^ 
foot stroke, 27 inches diameter, hull 165 feet long, 18 foot 
beam, 5 1-2 foot hold, 4 39 inch boilers, 18 feet long. This 
boat made the trip from Louisville to Cincinnati in fourteen 
hours twelve minutes. 

This was more than 54 years ago. The Ben Franklin and 
Portsmouth performed the service each, making the round trip 
every two days. The trade proved to be profitable, the Ben 
Franklin paid for herself in eight months. Jacob Strader and 
J. B. Summons' the captain, were the sole owners of the Ben 
Franklin, the writer being clerk. The Portsmouth was owned 
same way, with the exception that Capt. I. D. Edmond had a 
small interest. The Portsmouth was a good running boat, 
though not as fast as Ben Franklin. In 1835 a new fast boat, 
Gen'l Pike, took the place of the Portsmouth, was 168 feet long, 
beam 19 feet, hold 5 feet 8 inches, single engine, 5 1-2 feet 
long, 25 inch diameter, 4 boilers, 40 inch by 20 feet, madethe 



WHEELING AND LOUISVILLE LL\E IN 1850. 379 

run from Louisville to Cinciiinuti in 13 hours, 40 minutes. 
John D. Edmond, captain; Alfred Dunning, clerk. 

In June, 1836, another new I)oat took the place of the Ben 
Franklin (the latter having been sold to Capt. Slade to go to 
Mobile). This boat had double engine, 7 feet stroke, 6 feet 
hold, 23 feet beam, was fast, having made the run from Louis- 
ville to Cincinnati in 12 hours and 8 minutes, (xood passen- 
ger accommodations but poor freighter, was profitable to the 
owners. In 1838, another double engifie boat was placed on 
the route to take the place of the single engine boat, Gen'l 
Pike. This new boat was named Pike (Big Pike), 182 
feet long (just filled the old locks), 28 feet beam, 7 foot 
hold, 2 engines, 8 feet 25 inches, (> boilers, 24 feet 40 inches. 
This boat was built i)y Wm. French, Jeffersonville, about the 
speed of Ben Franklin, but a larger carrier. 

For low water boats the company built and owned boats 
suitable for the season named Little Ben, Little Pike, 
Ben Franklin No. 7, Pike No. 8, etc. In 1840 the 
United States Mail having been built by Mr. James Wall 
for the Cincinnati and Maysville trade, which proved rather 
expensive for the place, was sold to Capt. Strader. In the 
spring of 1841 she was placed in the trade between Cincinnati 
and Pittsburg leaving the former city every Monday morning 
at 11. This was a fast boat, 2 engines, 18 inches 7 feet, 
Stroke, 3 42-inch, boilers, 22 feet beam, 180 feet long, 
etc. Carried a great many passengers, some freight, and did 
very well. The writer was captain, James Summons clerk. 

The apparent success of this boat during a rather short 
season (water getting low l)y middle of June), suggested the 
idea to the steamboat community of making it a tri-weekly 
line. Linas Logan and P. Wilson Strader bought the '< Mail " 
for the purpose. William (Bill) Fuller put in the Swiftsure 
No. 2. In the course of two years more, there were boats for 
every day. The Messrs. Stoneput in the Monongahela ; Kline- 
felter, the Hibernia; Capt. Crooks, the Clii)per; Capt, Grace, 
the Brilliant ; Capt. Dean, the Buckeye State; Capt. K'ountz, 
the Cincinnati, the Messenger was one of the boats, an*d Pitts- 
burg, Capt. James McCiew, Alleghany. It was in the 'oO's the 
great "Wheeling and Louisville'" line was established. At 
about this time everybody wanted fine large fast boats. The 
Pennsylvania Central was nearly completed to Pittsburgh and 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had almost reached Wheel- 
ing. Steamboatmen nor railroad men had at that time any 
idea that railroads would be built to run from East to West 
and North to South, over rivers, through and over mountains, 



380 Gould's history of river navigation. 

and all over the continent. The New York Central ended at 
Albany and Buffalo. It was supposed the Pennsylvania 
Central would end at Pittsburgh, and the Baltimore and Ohio 
at Wheelino;, otherwise the fine large steamers to ply between 
Wheeling, Louisville and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati would not 
have been built. They were, however, named as follows, 
to-Avit: Alvin Adams, David White, Thos. Swan, Baltimore, 
Falls City, Virginia and City of Wheeling. The early 
plans in building railroads were to place them so as to con- 
nect with steamboat routes. 

EARLY PACKET LINES. 

The result shows they didn't stop there, and steamboat en- 
terprise has materially declined. This is quite a digression 
from the original object. " W^riting something about the 
Mail Line " I will digress a little more, now I'm about it. It 
was in the year 1832, Capt. Shrodes, of Pittsburgh, built the 
largest boat ever constructed on the Western waters. This 
boat was named Mediterranean. AYas too long and too wide 
to pass through the locks, drew about 6 feet light, 200 feet 
long, 31 feet beam, 10 feet hold, 8 42-inch boilers 24 feet 
long single engine, don't remember the size, passed down the 
river in February, 1833, never returned as far as Cincinnati. 
Capt. Shrodes afterwards built other large boats in 1834 and 
1836. Three of them large carriers, Corinthian, Moravian, 
and Peru. Double engines, lock length. As early as 1834 
steamboat interest began to increase rapidly, many were built 
at Pittsburgh. The trade with St. Louis and Upper Missis- 
sippi country was rapidly becoming of marked importance, and 
it was not uncommon to see the signs for " St. Louis" on as 
many as from 5 to 6 boats at the same time at the Cincinnati 
wharf. There were lines formed. One : " The Pilot's Line," 
" The Good Intent Line," " The Red Letter Line," and later 
a line of fast boats called the "Express Line." There were 
five of them, named as follows : Tiber, Tribune, Susquehanna, 
Paris, and London owned in Pittsburgh 175 feet long, 21 feet 
wide, 5 1-2 feet hold 4 42-inch boilers 24 feet long, single 
engines, disremember the size. I believe another of the same 
class was in the line, named Glasgow, Capt. Wm. McClain. 

I will now return to the " Mail Line." The second double 
engine, Ben Franklin, was built in 1840, made two trips to New 
Orleans in the winter of 1840-41. After returning to Cin- 
cinnati in February, 1841, carried General W. H. Harrison to 
Pittsburg on his way to Washington to take his seat as Presi- 
dent. This latter boat proving rather large for the Mail trade 
was placed in the trade between St. Louis and New Orleans in 
1842, Capt. Casey ; she was a fast runner, having left New 



NEW ORGANIZATION OF THE MAIL LINE CO. 381 

Orleans for St. Louis three times on reo^ular trips in one 
month, it was the month of May, 1842. The Ben Franklin 
No. 6 was built in 1843 and placed in the line. The Pike No. 
7 being the boat on the opposite days. Ben Franklin No. 7 
and Pike No. 8 being the low water boats. Some time dur- 
ing the year 1840, Capt. John D. Edmond having resigned his 
position as commander of the Pike, Capt. John Armstrong 
was installed as captain of the " Pike side of the Line " and 
Capt. Chas. P. Bacon, of Louisville, was placed in the office, 
Alfred Dunning having retired as clerk with Capt. Edmond. 
Capt. Bacon, in 1843, retired from Mail Line to engage as 
captain in the trade between New Orleans and Louisville. 
Capt. Fitzgerald, old " Two and a half and the door slides " 
was clerk. In all these years John Blair Summons was cap^ 
tain of the Ben Franklin and J. H. Barker was clerk. James 
Gorman became interested as owner on the " Pike side of the 
Line;" also Capt. Armstrong became a stockholder in 1840, 
each ownino; one-sixth. Messrs. Summons and Barker holdinsf 
their stock in the "Franklin side," Jacob Strader being 
owner of one-half of the "Pranklin and two-thirds of the 
Pikes." 

The house of " Strader & Gorman," having been establish- 
ed about the year 1833 for the purpose of carrying on a general 
produce and commission business, were agents for steam- 
boats in the New Orleans trade as well as for the mail-boats. 
Wm. Worsham was their confidential clerk and book-keeper 
till 1840, at which time Ed. (Major) Tillotson succeeded Mr. 
Worsham. The old line continued until the year 1847 with- 
out any change in ownership. When the property changed 
hands, John B. Summons, Patrick Kogers, Thomas Sherlock, 
C. G. Pearce, Philip Anschutz, Edward Montgomery and J. 
H Barker were the purchasers. The Line since has continued 
being the "United States Mail Line." New owners have 
been added and old ones have retired from time to time. The 
business increased, boats were built, some bought. A dailv 
line at one time during the years before the war. The Com- 
pany owned and ran a boat every day to St. Louis. Also a 
tri-weekly line to Memphis. Were interested as stockholders 
in the "Great Mississippi and Atlantic Steam-ship Co." 
and previous to the war in the line from Memphis to New 
Orleans. 

The names of the boats (some of them ) owned by the com- 
pany are somewhat familiar to the present generation. 
Among which were Jacob Strader, Telegraph No. 3, Alvin 
Adams, Fashion, The Pikes, Ben Franklin, United States, 



382 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Aiiiericii, Telegraphs, Nos. 1 and 2, Northerner, Southerner, 
Moses McLellan, Superior, Gen. Buell, Major Anderson, Pike 
No. 9, Lady Franklin, Lady Pike, High Flyer, Gen. Lytle, 
City of Madison. 

ONE stockholder 53 YEARS. 

In May, 1884, the old company sold a majority of stock to 
the Big Sandy, Portsmouth and Pomeroy Packet Co., withCapt. 
C. M. Holloway, General Manager, Capt. John Kyle, Presi- 
dent and Lee R. Keck, Secretary and Treasurer, ot Cincinnati, 
and Capt. Frank Carter, Superintendent at Louisville. The 
steamers of the company at this time are the Fleetwood, City 
of Madison, Gen. Pike, City of Vevay and Minnie Bay. 

One stockholder (J. H. B.) who become interested as an 
owner of the Ben Franklin in the year 1836, is novv, in 1888, 
still one of the owners. 

Hoping my humble effort may aid you somewhat in your 
undertaking, I am. 

Yours !-incerely, 
(Signed) Jonathan H. Barker. 

Cincinnati, O., Dec. 28th, 1888. 
Capt. E. W. Gould, tit. Louis. Mo. — 

Dear Sir : Yours of the 7th inst. was duly received, but 
an unusual press of official duties, together with indifferent 
health, prevented an earlier reply. 

The following are the principal packet companies, with names 
of oflScers, as requested, but I regret my inability to give the 
respective dates of their organization: — 

MEMPHIS AND CINCINNATI PACKET COMPANY. 

James D. Parker, President; L. R. Keck, Secretary and 
Treasurer; R. W. Wise, Superintendent. Steamers — Ohio, 
DeSoto, Buckeye State, Granite State. 

CINCINNATI, PORTSMOUTH, BIG SANDY, AND POMEROY PACKET 

COMPANY. 

John Kyle, President ; C. M. Holloway, Superintendent ; L. 
R. Keck, Secretary and Treasurer; D. W. Shedd, General 
Freight Agent. Steamers — Bostona, Bonanza, Big Sandy, 
Telegraph, St. Lawrence, Louis A. Sherley. 

OHIO RIVER PACKET COMPANY. 

Cincinnati, New Richmond, Moscow and Chilo: David 
Gibson, President; N. C. Vanderbilt, Secretary. Steamers 
Tocoma and Lancaster. 



PACKET COMPANIES CONTINUED. 'dS'd 



MAYSVILLE AND VANCEBURG PACKET COMPANY. 

David Gibson, President; Bruce Redden, Secretary; L. 
Redden, Superintendent. Steamer Handy No. 2. 

WHEELINC4 AND CINCINNATI PACKET COJIPANY. 

David Gibson, President; M. F. Noll, Secretary; Chas. 
Musselman, Superintendent. Steamer Andes. 

Herewith inclosed please lind P. O. order for my subscrip- 
tion for a copy of your forthcoming work. 

Thanking you for the compliment paid me in your letter, 
which is scarcely warranted, I will close with kind regards 
and very many good wishes for the success of 3'our worthy 
undertaking. 

Sincerely yours, 

Henry H. Devenney. 



CHAPTER LV 



ST. LOUIS AND NEW ORLEANS PACKET COMPANY — '< RAILROAD 

L!NE," 1858. 

THIS line comprised a number of the finest steamers on 
Western waters at the time. They consisted of the fol- 
lowing boats, viz. : — 

Imperial, Capt. Gould ; New Falls City, Capt. Montgomery ; 
Wra. M. Morrison, Capt. Bofinger; City of Memphis, Capt. 
Kountz ; James E. Woodruff, Capt. Rogers (the Woodruff 
was the first steamboat that ever published a daily paper on 
board; it was edited by Capt. G. W. Ford, the clerk); 
Pennsylvania, Capt. Klinefelter; A. T. Lacy, Capt. Rodney ; 
New Uncle Sam, Capt. Van Dusen ; J. C. Swan, Capt. Jones ; 
Alex. Scott, Capt. Switzer. 

Ten steamers composed the line. They had an arrange- 
ment with the Illinois Central Railroad at Cairo, and with the 
Ohio and Mississippi at St. Louis, by which passengers and 
freight Avere contracted to all points reached by either road or 
the boats. 

While this was not a joint stock company, the boats were 
run in joint interest, and with a regularity heretofore unknown 
in this trade and at uniform prices for the business they did. 



384 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Many forebodings were expressed as to its success, as it 
was among the tirst attempts to organize a regular line upon 
this principle. 

But few months however elapsed before the line became 
very popular with the owners of boats, and with the trav- 
eling public and shippers everywhere. 

A position in the railroad line, or a " day in the line," as it 
was termed, was coveted by all who had a boat suitable for 
the trade, and commanded a large premium when offered for 
sale, and as high as $1,500 was paid in some instances. 

But from the unfortunate " unpleasantness" that occurred 
between the North and the South, in 1861, the " railroad line 
of boats " promised a success that has not been excelled by 
any organization in the New Orleans trade since, and fur- 
nished a character of boats and a service to the public unri- 
valed before or since that time. 

While their time was not as fast, their regularity and ac- 
commodations were as o-ood. 



ST. LOUIS AND TENNESSEE PACKET CO. 

Before the close of the war the demand for transportation 
on the Tennessee river induced the establishment of a packet 
company between St. Louis and J^hnsonville. Several boats 
found employment there in transporting government supplies, 
and a successful business was done for several years under the 
direction of Capt. Cafferes and other war captains of the time, 
as there was not a legitimate trade after the government trans- 
portation ceased, the boats were withdrawn and no regular 
boats ran there until the present company reopened the 
trade. 

In 1881 a company known as the "St. Louis, Cincinnati, 
Huntington & Pittsburgh Packet Co. 

Capt. I. M.Williamson, of Cincinnati, acted as superintend- 
ent at that port, and Capt. W. S. Evens filled the same posi- 
tion at Pittsburgh. 

The company had some good boats and they were judiciously 
managed. 

But it was soon discovered the distance was too long and 
the competition with railroads over a much shorter route 
could not be successfully maintained, and after a few months 
the boats were withdrawn. 



ORGANIZATION OF PACKET COMPANIES. 385 



ARKANSAS, RED RIVER, OUACHITA AND OTHER PACKET COMPA- 
NIES WERE FORMED AT ST. LOUIS. 

Soon after the close of the war the trade of the South 
drifted towards St. Louis very rapidly, and suggested more 
and better facilities for transportation. 

The result was the conibination of the surplus boats that 
were left idle after the war into oro^anizations, and were styled 
Arkansas River Packet Co., Red River Packet Co., Ouachita, 
Tennessee, etc., etc. They were simply associations with an 
agreement to run under certain prescribed rules, and under 
the direction of a board of directors and a president. When- 
ever, from any cause, the owners of a bout wanted to withdraw, 
they did so. 

" The Merchants, St. Louis & Arkansas River Packet Co." 
was organized in 1870. 

James A. Jackson was elected President; D. P. Rowland, 
Vice-President; G. D. Appleton, Treasurer; Sylvester, Sec- 
retary and Superintendent. 

The company had several light draft boats which ran suc- 
cessfully a year or two. But low water and the Iron 
Mountain Railroad soon wore them out, and they were never 
replaced. 

The Ouachita River Packet Co. was organized in 1870, with 
several good boats, owned at St. Louis, among which were the 
C. H. Durfee, Frank Dozier, master; Mary McDonald, John 
Greenough, master; Ida Stockdale, J. W. Jacobs, master; 
Hesper, J. Furgeson, master; C. V. Kountz, I. C. Vanhook,. 
master; Tempest, D. H. Silver, master. 

These boats were succeeded by others as they were lost or 
withdrawn, and it seemed for several years that a permanent 
trade by the river would be established. But like all other 
trades with St. Louis, on the tributaries of the Mississippi, it 
has only been a question of time, and that time has generally 
expired on the completion of every railroad. 

A line of boats known as the " Carter Line," was estab- 
lished in 1869, to run between St. Louis and Red River. But 
its existence soon terminated, after an unsuccessful career of 
a few months. 

A principal difficulty in this case was the great distance 
with no return car^o. 



386 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



ATLANTIC AND MISSISSIPPI STEAMSHIP COMPANY AND IT 

SUCCESSORS. 

The great demand for transportation after the second year 
of the Civil War, for moving troops and munitions of Avar hy 
the government, induced the building of a large number of 
boats and at fabulous prices. The result was, that at the 
close of the war, or in 1866, it became a very serious question 
with the owners, what could be done with them. It was pain- 
fully evident that the business of the country was so demoral- 
ized that not half the tonnage then afloat on the Mississippi 
and Ohio Rivers could be profitably employed^ After various 
plans had been considered and discussed l)y the large number 
of owners, a joint stock company was agreed upon and the 
assessed value of all the boats that were to be included in the 
organization was to form the capital stock. 

Three disinterested gentlemen were selected to value the 
boats. 

The aggregate value was fabulous — nearly two and a 
quarter million dollars. It included some twenty boats, 
many of them the largest and finest then afloat. 

The company was christened the " Atlantic and Mississippi 
/Steamship Co.'' 

John J. Roe was elected first President, and John N. 
Bofinger, Superintendent ; the principal office was in St. Louis. 

It had the most extensive agencies and connections of any 
steamboat company in the world. It had its own system of 
coupon tickets, which was recognized and good on all railroads 
in the country. 

Freight and passengers contracted to and from all points. 
Its connections at New Orleans with New York by steamships 
were close, and large quantities of freight from Eastern cities 
from aU points on the Mississippi River were billed through 
the line and vice versa. 

The fii'st fatal mistake was made in the organization, and 
was probably the cause of its entire failure, within two years., 
A majority of the best boats owned at St. Louis and in Cin- 
cinnati and some from other places were selected and appraised, 
and stock issued agreeably to the valuation, which constituted 
the capital stock of $2,000,000. Subsequently the company 
purchased three or four boats which increased the capital stock 
to $2,240,000 and the number ot boats to about 25, leaving 
about half that number of boats outside. 

In this the mistake occurred. 



feECOND FATAL MISTAKE. 387 

These outside boats, while not as new or as valuable as 
most of those selected, were of large capacity, and when com- 
bined under an organization, at once presented a formidable 
competition. 

Things went on swimmingly for a few months. The officers 
of the boats were generally selected from among those that 
had previously been employed by former owners, and were 
sometimes holders of small blocks of stock. 

The war was over, and the country full of greenbacks. 
Everything was inflated, and prices of everything consumed 
by steamboats were fabulous. People at the North had become 
extravagant in everthing, and the only cheap commodity in the 
market was "greenbacks." The result was soon apparent, as 
many of the steamboats were in commission, manned by crews 
with but little interest, if any, beyond their salaries, each crew 
striving to excel the other in the elegance and luxury of their 
tiibles and in the speed of tlieir boats, with no one to control 
or check their extravagance. 

The wide-spreading limits of the company's business ren- 
dered it impossible tor the executive officers (only two of 
which were receiving salaries) to do more than to give general 
supervision, leaving the detail and the result to the judg- 
ment and the caprice of those in charge of the boats. The 
result was as may be anticipated. While the company was 
doinof an immense business, it was being done so extrava- 
gantly and with so little regard to permanent results, there was 
no margin for profits. 

Although the war was now over and the volunteer forces had 
been returned to their homes, the government had yet a large 
:t mount of water transportation to be done, extending 
throughout the Mississippi valley, and advertised for bids to 
cover several months, and to include all its transportation. 
The directors of the Atlantic and Mississippi Steamship Co. 
decided that they had had enough government transportation 
before the " surrender " and declined to put in a bid. 
This ivas another fatatmislahe. 

It left the field open for the organization of another com- 
pany, which were not slow to avail themselves of it, and 
having secured the contract from the government all the out- 
side boats that were suitable and desired to do so, were put 
into the new organization. 

The government contiact, although let at lower than the 
current rate at that time, formed the basis of a cargo in all 
directions, which gave another company a decided advantage 
over the A. & M. About this time, or early in 1867, adversity 



388 Gould's history of river navigation. 

seems to have overshadowed the great company. Losses by the 
explosion of boilers was unprecedented. Several of their 
finest boats were burned. Three at one time, laying at the 
wharf at St. Louis. Some were sunk and in less than six 
months half the boats had disappeared. Many lives had been 
lost and damages had accrued from various sources. Suits 
had been commenced for damages in some cases and the stock 
which twelve months previous had been sold at par, was a 
drug in the market at any price. Debts were pressing, 
directors were indorsing paper to raise money and the boats 
making nothing. At length an assessment was made on the 
stockholders to pay otf the indebtedness. A large portion of 
the stockholders responded. Some did not, thinking it was 
too late to save the " sinking ship." 

They were Avise. While a large sum was realized from 
the assessment, it only tided over the chasm that had been 
widening since the organization. It however enabled the com- 
pany to liquidate its indebtedness to all except the stockhold- 
ers. Later on they were relieved for their indorsements by 
the sale of the remains of the wreck. Every remedy known 
to the trade was resorted to at different periods during its 
short career to avoid the pending crash. 

The directors were liberal, high-toned business men, and 
stood manfully by the compau}'^ throughout all its embarrass- 
ments. Capt. John J. Roe resigned the presidency and was 
succeeded by E. W. Gould, Joseph Brown, and Wm. J. Lewis. 
But no amount of experience or financial ability could do 
more than defer the final catastrophe. 

Thus perished one of the largest steamboat companies ever 
formed in the Mississippi Valley and with it vanished several 
fortunes, the accumulations from the result of the war. 

One of the largest stockholders in this company had stock 
to the amount of $450,000, which represented the assessed 
value of the boats he put in. Others had very large amounts, 
perhaps not quite so much, but far more than they were able 
to lose, and never recovered from the loss. 

St. Louis & New Orleans Packet Company succeeded the 
Atlantic & Mississippi Steamship Company.-^ It was organized 
in 1869. Capt. John N. Bofinger was elected president. A 
large number of steamboats were included in the association, 
and controlled by the company, but were owned by individuals. 
When the A. & M. company collapsed several of their boats 
were purchased and put into the new line. 

Havins: a contract with the government and each owner 



merchants' southern line packet CO. 389 

managinoj his own boat, under the general rules of the com- 
pany, the result was far more beneficial to the owners than 
had resulted to the owners of the stock in the Atlantic & 
Mississippi Company. 

This organization continued with varied success for several 
years, and was succeeded by the " Merchant's Southern Line 
Packet Company " in which were included boats that had for- 
merly been associated in the St. Louis & New Orleans Packet 
Company. Capt. I. F. Baker was elected president and B. 
R. Pegram, vice-president. 

After a varied experience of two or three years the organ- 
ization was not such as was satisfactory to shippers nor did it 
meet the demands of the commerce between St. Louis and 
New Orleans, neither was it profitable to the owners. 

It was finally superseded by the " Anchor Line " which ex- 
tended their Vicksburg line in part, and thus covered the 
whole territory from St. Louis to New Orleans. 

" ANCHOR line." 

By the addition of some outside boats this line was perfected 
and has been maintained for several years with profit, and has 
given general satisfaction to shippers and the traveling pub- 
lic. The promptness and regularity of the " Anchor Line " 
has given it a national reputation, which nothing but the over- 
powering competition from railroads will ever disturb. Cer- 
tainly not so long as the company maintain the character of 
their boats and the regularity with which they are navigated, 
unless the withdrawal of so many boats from the New Or- 
leans trade shall create dissatisfaction wdiich may result in 
inducing competition from others beside the barge line. 

It hardly seems possible to those who once knew of the 
large number of regular freight and passenger boats employed 
in this trade that one boat per week would at this date, 1889, 
be sufficient to accommodate that trade. 

But those who have witnessed the result of railroad compe- 
tition on other rivers need not be surprised at even this, 
notably from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, from Louisville to 
New Orleans, from St. Louis to the Missouri River, where in 
less than thirty years the number of regular boats has been 
reduced from sixtv to none at all. 



3L»0 Gould's history of rivek navigation. 



CHAPTER LYI. 



MEMPHIS STEAMBOAT ORGANIZATIONS. 

AS early as 1844 as seen by reference to New Orleans 
papers an organization was formed to run a line of 
four boats to Memphis, composed of the following: — 

Steamer Memphis, Capt. R. S. Fritz; steamer Joan of 
Arc, Capt. C. B. Church ; steamer Louisiana, Capt. T. J. 
Casey ; steamer Red Rover, Capt. M. G. Anders. 

This was a temporary organization and was succeeded in 
1849 by the steamer Autocrat, Capt. G. W. Gosler; steamer 
Magnolia,- Capt. St. Clair Thommasson. These boats were 
continued in that trade several years and were succeeded in 
1857 by the following boats, viz. : — 

Steamer Ben Franklin, Capt. J. I), Clark ; steamer Neb- 
raska, Capt. A. R. Irwin ; steamer Ingomar, Capt. Berditt 
Paras; steamer John Simonds, Capt. J. F. Smith ; steamer 
Belfast, Capt. W. Wray ; steamer H. R. W. Hill, Capt. T. 
H. Newell ; steamer Capitol, Capt. J. D. Clark. 

This was a well organized company and ran with regularity 
in connection with the Memphis & Charleston Railroad three or 
four seasons, ticketing passengers to all points in the West, 
North, and East. 

It maintained an office in New Orleans and Memphis, and 
was really the first and most formidable steamboat organiza- 
tion that had existed up to that time. The boats were put in 
at a valuation which constituted the capital stock of the com- 
pany. But the expenses more than absorbed the net earnings 
of the boats, and the owners preferred to sell the boats to pay 
off the indebtedness rather than to assess themselves to sus- 
tain the line. 

The result was the boats were sold and the line discontinued, 
the owners having sunk nearly the value of the boats. 

The officers of this company were James Gosley, President; 
C. B. Church, Superintendent; J. J. Rawlings, Secretary. 

During this period there was a line of four boats from 
Memphis to Louisville, viz. : Tichomingo, Alvin Adams, 
Southerner, and Northerner ; all fine boats, but there was not 
sufficient business to suport them, and the line was of but 
temporary duration. 



AMUSING ITEMS ABOUT STEAMBOATMEN. 391 



OLD PROMINENT STEAMBOATMEN. 

In the Memphis Appeal of September, 1888, one entire side 
of that paper is devoted to historical, amusino: and interesting 
items I'ehiting to steamboats and steamboatmen more or less 
connected with thit port, by W. S. Trask. 

The following interesting items are from that elaborate ar- 
ticle : — 

"A number of very prominent men of the present day have 
passed a part of their career on boats plying the Western riv- 
ers in various employments, Ex-Governor Cameron, of Vir- 
ginia, the predecessor of Fitzhugh Lee, was a clerk on the 
Wm. M. Morrison, less than thirty years ago, and Mark Twain, 
the hnMiorist and author, was a piL)t on the same craft. Wm, 
B. Bate, of the United States Senate, was a freight clerk on 
the steamer Tennessee, running between Nashville and New 
Or eans, over forty years ago. Many of the prominent bank- 
ers and insurance men of the Ohio River cities were captains 
or clerks in their earlier days, and ex-Congressman Hooper, 
of Utah, ran a boat called the Alexander Hamilton on the Up- 
per Mississippi back in the forties and perhaps later. Charles 
E. Marshall, of the Red River packet B. L. Hodge, one of the 
most accomplished masters of thirty years ago, was a brother 
of the late gifted Humphrey Marshall, of Kentucky. The 
late Cornelius K. Garrison, the sreat railroad magnate of New 
York, ran the big side-wheel steamer Convoy in the Memphis 
and New Orleans trade, also to St. Louis, about '47 and '48, 
and Wm. Ralston, afterward a prominent San Francisco banker, 
was chief clerk on the same vessel. Both went to California 
in '49 and became millionaires several times over. Ex-river 
men now here in our midst include Mr. W. W. Schoolfield, 
the genial merchant, Mr. Samuel P. Read, the prominent 
banker, and several more not just itow in mind. Last winter 
on one of the Ohio River flat-boats, which moored at our levee, 
a graduate of West Point was a hand at the sweeps, and Capt. 
Mdllory, of flat-boat renown, is the auditor and treasurer of 
one of the richest counties of Southern Indiana, while another 
flat-boat captain, in the person of Mr. Espey, is a candidate 
for an equally lesponsible place in another Indiana county not 
far from the Ohio line. A host of others might be mentioned 
but these are enough to show that honor and tfame from no 
condition rise. 

The late William Bohlen, of this city, was identified with 
river interests for a full half century, covering the grand era 



392 Gould's history of river naaigation. 

of stearaboating. He owned the steamer Alliquippa back in 
the forties, and for years the craft towed ice-loaded barges be- 
tween the UpperlUinois River and Memphis, occasional!}' going 
to Vicksburg and as far as Baton Rouge, to supply the peo- 
ple's demands for ice. The steamer Capitol, built by the How- 
ards at Louisville in ISf'^, for the New Orleans and Bayou Sara 
trade, where she had a most successful career, was afterward 
purchased by the Bohlens for their ice towing traffic, and this 
boat was sent from here to the Yazoo River in May, 18<)2, tow- 
ing: the war-boat Arkansas, which vessel afterward made havoc 
among the Federal fleet in front of Vicksbnrg. The Capitol 
had the reputation ofbeingamong the fastest boats of her day, 
and for an entire season, that of 1859, she made weekly trips be- 
tween this port and New Orleans, carrving the mail and making 
fift3'-six mail landings up, and as many on the down trip. The 
Capitol was 235 feet long, 35 feet beam, 8 feet hold and had six 
boilers with thirty-inch cylinders, nine feet stroke. She vyas 
contemporary and about the same size as the famous 
Southern Belle which ran in the New Orleans and Vicksburg 
trade between 1851 and 1858, commanded by Capt. J. M, 
White. A goodly number of pleasant stories are related of 
the late William Bohlen's success in various sports during the 
early history of this city. He was famed far and near as a 
most wonderful checker player, ranking in that wa}' on a par 
with the great Creole chess king, Paul Morphy. It is related 
that on one occasion a visitor here from Vermont named 
TinsleyKaye, brought with him an entire new kit of checker 
tools expressly to beat Mr. Bohlen at his favorite game, his 
renown in this sport having spread to the distant maple groves 
of the Green Mountain latitude. Mr. Kaye called on Mr. 
Bohlen, proposed a sitting, the couple repairing to a quiet 
room at the Gayoso for the indulgence, and after a four hour 
contest, the diflerence was only one game in favor of the 
Memphis player. Then an adjournment for supper ensued, 
and after it was over the play was renewed. It was kept up 
steady throughout the night and far along toward sunrise, at 
which time Mr. Bohlen was nearly forty games ahead. The 
visitor from Vermont packed his kit and went East, spreading 
the news about the Bluff City checker play as he traveled. 

The surviving brother of the late Mr. Bohlen, now resident 
here, made his first voyage down the muddy Mississippi with 
coal and ice, going as low as Baton Rouge and trading off his 
stock ])y the barrel or cart-load as suited purchasers. He 
closed up the trip with $2,000 profit, all yellow gold coin, 
that being the favorite currency of time, and this he packed 



VALUE OF A NEGRO AND A HALE OF COTTON. 393 

snugly in a box, taking passage for the Ohio River on the 
steamer Ben Sherrod. The boat took tire during the trip up, 
between Fort Adams and Natchez, at 2 o'clock on the morn- 
ing of May 1», 1837, and was totally destroyed, over fifty 
lives being lost by the disaster. Among the lost was the 
father and two children of the boat's commander, Capt. 
Castlemar, but the latter saved his life as well as that of his 
wife by swimming ashore with her. Mr. P. R. Bohlen under- 
took to save himself as well as his treasure, but his eftorts were 
only partially successful. He went overboard in deep water 
with the box of coin under one arm, held on to the burning 
boat bv disfo-ing his finger nails into the oaken seams in the 
side of the hull, and finally when red-hot coals began to drop 
through the guard over his head, singeing his hair and scorch- 
ing his ears, he took a notion it was time to drop the box and 
swim. He made the shore in safety, but lost his gold. 
Finally reaching his destination up the Ohio his friends staked 
him, and now in his advanced years he is comfortably fixed 
and leads a bachelor life at his ease on a farm in Central Illinois 
affording recreation and a chance for investing a share of the 
surplus earnings of his investments here. 

The golden days of steamboating in the Memphis and New 
Orleans trade began about 1848, and the richest of this marine 
harvest time was the decade and a half preceding the inter- 
state war. In those days several hundred thousand bales of 
cotton were annually carried South by boats from Memphis 
and points on the river below. Cotton, negroes and land 
•comprised the wealth of the valley country :ind the cotton 
planters were the nabobs of the South. A negro in those days 
was worth a round $1,000, and a bale of cotton brought $50, 
the capacity of production being about ten bales of cotton and 
five acres of corn each year to a field hand. No railways 
penetrated the interior at the time, except for short distances, 
and the only means of transportation on our Western and 
Southern rivers was the stately steamboat, or the primitive 
keel or flat-boat, the latter being the exclusive method of con- 
veying coal for use down South. It was away back beyond 
this period that the brave old warrior. Gen. YVm. O. Butler, 
who ran for the Vice-presidency with Cass in '44, and died at 
the advanced age of eighty-seven, wrote a poetical gem which 
will hold its place as long as time lasts, commencing — 

" 0, boatman, wind that horu again, 
For never did the listening air 
Upon its lambent bosom bear 
So wild, so soft, so sweet a strain." 



304 Gould's history of river navigatio> , 

In those early days when the Convo}^ Capt. C. K, Garrison, 
was the pioneer steam packet from Memphis to New Orleans, 
and the Autocrat, Capt. Goslee, soon after became her con- 
sort, most of the traffic was transacted on Hit-boats moored 
at our landing. The best boarding place for single gentlemen 
was on the big wharf-boat always Tying at the landing, and on 
which boat and bar stores were kept in abundance. Then it 
was that the respected Maj, J. J. Murphy sold groceries and 
ship chandlery from a flat-boat, the late C. W. Goyer dealt 
out side meat to country wagoners, Mr. Kinney and the Hon. 
John Johnson disposed of furniture in the same way ; the 
Walt and Elliott brothers handled grain and produce, while 
many others had their trading boats floating at the front, filled 
with valuable stores to l)arter with the public. Flat-boating 
had been in years previous a perilous business, but it generally 
returned handsome profits, and a voyage southward was often 
full of romance as well as adventure. A three months' trip 
to New Orleans, floating lazily with the current, the scenery 
constantly changing, but ever wild and beautiful, was a thing 
never to be forgotten, and many of our earl}'^ settlers laid the 
foundation of their fortunes while serving aboard of flat or keel- 
boats. These gave place to the grander steamboat in due 
time, and as our little city grew m importance the packet 
steamers })lying hence to New Orleans increased in number 
and capacity. The pioneer pair named above were followed 
b}^ the first and second Bulletin, Capt. Charles B. Church ; 
the Geo. Collier, Capt. Goslee ; the Nebraska, Capt. Erwin ; 
the Ben Franklin and lui^omar, Capt. J. D. Clark ; the H. R. 
W. Hill, Capt. Newelh the R. W. Powell, Capt. Joseph 
Estes; the John Simonds, Capt. Frank Hicks; the Prince of 
Wales, Capt. James Lee, and several others of equal note, 
capacity and grandeur. All of the commanders and clerks of 
the boats named are now deceased except Capt. Frank Hicks 
and Capt. James Lee. 

STEALING A STEAMBOAT. 

Talent is essential to success, when it comes to stealing a 
.steamboat, or a red-hotstove, for neither is easy to do, though 
l)oth are known to have been done. A steamboat called the 
Sallie Robinson, that run, along in the fifties, on the Yazoo 
and Tallahatchie rivers, carrying 2,000 bales of cotton each 
trip in the active business season, was stolen outright twenty- 
five years ago by Edward Schiller, and he pocketed the pro- 
ceeds of the sale, amounting to $20,000. The vessel belonged 



OAPT. BAIRD AND STEAMER GLASGOW. 395 

to a nieichant of New Orleans named Joseph R. Shannon, but 
he had the craft re^ristered in the name of his friend, Edward 
Schiller, at the time Commodore Farragnt captured the 
Crescent City in 1862. Schiller manaired to o;et hold of and 
destroy every paper relating to the ownership of the boat ex- 
cept the custom-house registration record. He sold the boat, 
gave a clear title and went West. Buying a farm near Fort 
Scott, Southern Kansas, then on the frontier, he lived in re- 
tirement for a dozen years; and, after that, Mr. Shannon 
found and began to worry him, A compromise proposed by 
Shannon was not accepted, and the bother began in earnest, 
as the rightful owner of the craft never let up until the other 
was penniless. Schiller had been a reporter on the New Or- 
leans True Delta, at which time he wrote a book called 
" ('herry Blossom," that did not meet success. After he lost 
his Kansas farm he turned up here in Memphis while Greeley 
ran for the Presidency, and worked as a printer on the Ava- 
lanche ; also wrote i'or awhile for the same journal, and finally 
went off to Southern Texas, where he died in povert}' some 
years later, leaving a son and a daughter. He was an eccen- 
tric individual, who, upon introducing himself into the ^ya- 
lanche office, unloaded about a hand-cart of manuscript from 
his left shoulder and asked the editor, Mr. Brower, to examine 
it, with a view to publication. It is needless to say the mat- 
ter was never printed, for it was not worth printing. The 
poor fellow could write very well, but his etforts were not ap- 
preciated by the public. He stole a steamboat, but could not 
hide the proceeds successfidly — a common failing among 
pilferers. 

The exploit of Schiller affords perhaps the only instance re- 
corded where one man ^tole and sold a steamboat and made 
way with the gross proceeds, but numerous instances are re- 
lated where boatmen have cut out vessel-* and run them off to 
get away from clamorous creditors and a burden of debt. 
One of the best remembered and most successful in this line 
was Capt. Abner Baird, formerly of this city. He rode reck- 
lessly at all hazards of life or limb when it came to running a 
steamboat, and he could pull the wool over the eyes of his 
creditors with much more ease than any one on the list. It 
was some fourteen years ago that he ran the steamer Glas- 
gow off from the wharf here up the Ohio River, leaving debts 
due his crew and for supplies of a couple of thousand dollars. 
The captain had made several trips to the Ohio and also up 
White River, going out light and coming back empty. With 
no prospect of bettering his condition, he began to beat about 



396 Gould's history of river navigation. 

to save his boat from attachment. One night he invited all 
hands and the cook to visit the spectacularBlack Crook at the 
theater. After the play an oyster snpper was discussed until 
an hour after midnight. The cost to the captain was a dozen 
dollars or so, which he borrowed from one of the victims. 
Meanwhile Capt. Selby, his partner, had steam raised on the 
boat, hired a few hands, and lit out for up the river. Old Si 
Dougherty, the pilot, John Darb}^ the clerk, Wm. Griffith, 
the steward, with Capt. Baird and half a dozen others, 
participated in the pleasures of the evening, but when 
they visited the wharf, foot of Jefferson street, their 
steamer was gone. To say they were mad would be putting 
it mild. Capt. Baird had run the sidewheel steamer 
Republic out of New Orleans in I860, carrying a mar- 
shal and several deputies, afterward putting them ashore in 
a cypress swamp below Baton Rouge. He had flanked 
marshals, sheriffs and creditors when he ran the Admiral, the 
Sovereign and the Jno. D. Perry in previous years, but his 
best achievement was that of escorting the boys to the thea- 
ter and making them have a good time while his partner took 
the boat away, leaving them in the lurch, with no money and 
no boarding house. Dozens of instances might be told where 
officers in charge of boats were circumvented, but none would 
beat the game played so cleverly by Capt. Baird. 

Capt. James Lee, Sr., for whom the handsome steamer now 
running was named, and who now, in the evening of a well 
spent and active life, resides quietly with the family of his 
son in a pleasant home on Adams street, or rolls around in a 
big arm-chair on the steamer Rosa Lee, has been a notable 
character on the river for more than half a century. The cap- 
tain began as a boatman in 1829, saw the rise of business, and 
participated in its most brilliant triumphs. He commanded 
some of the finest and best boats that ever floated the rivers, 
including the Old Hickory, the Prince of Wales, the Phil 
Allin, and as many as two dozen others. Capt. Lee is a great 
hand to tell stories, and he could keep his passengers in a 
state of merriment at all times when his duties would allow. 
One among his thousand or more of yarns ran about like this: 
"As odd a customer as you'll find in six States was old John 
Prewett, who lived in Stewart county, Tennessee. He was 
long and hungry looking, with his shoulder points away up 
between his ears, as if he'd been fixed up to be born over ; 
and he wore a coat with a pair of enormous buttons right be- 
tween his shoulder blades. His head was sugar-loaf shaped, 
his eyes were small and close together, like a crawfish ; his 



BLOWING THE BITS OUT OF A MULe's MOUTH. 3i>7 

nose was long like u wedge, and his mouth looked like it 
would hold a shovelful of potatoes. Prewett had powerful 
lungs and he practiced with a bugle until he thought he was an 
artist. When Stickney's circus went through, about the time 
Polk was elected, Prewett visited Nashville and asked for a 
job to blow the bugle. The boys had heard of his blowing 
powers, and finally bantered him until he put up $40 as a bet 
that he could blow the l)ridle bits out of a mule's mouth by 
placing his own mouth under the animal's tail. Prewett won 
the money, but he failed to secure an engagement as bugle 
player with the circus." 

LOSS OF BULLETIN, NO. 2. 

While lying at the Memphis wharf near the mouth of Wolf 
River, then the public landing, the steamer Helen McGregor 
exploded and a large number of people lost their lives. This 
was the first recorded disaster of a long list that has since oc- 
curred in front or near our city. Among the most notal)le 
was the loss of the Pennsylvania, Capt. Marshall, in June, 
1858.^ The boat was literally crowded with people, both cabin 
and deck, and more than 100 persons were lost. In the list 
was Judge Harris, the brother of Senator Isham G. Harris. 
The judge occupied a state room over the boiler, in company 
with Mr. Charles Stone, formerly of this city, and whose sons 
reside with us. Both gentlemen were asleep, the disaster oc- 
curring about daylight, and Mr. Stone has related that when 
he awoke he found himself in the river. He swam to a 
tree in the overflow, the low country being submerged at the 
time, and from that perch he was rescued. The locality was 
near the mouth of St. Francis River, and the steamer Kate 
Frisbee, Capt. John T. Shirley, came along shortly after and 
brought the survivors to this port, where the wounded were 
cared for. Odd Fellow's hall being converted into a temporary 
hospital for their accommodation. Three years before that 
the steamer Bulletin No. 2, Capt. Charles B. Church, was 
burned near Transylvania lauding, above Vicksburg, and 
many perished, among the list being the father of Mr. George 
Handwerker, the well known musician. Several survivors of 
this disaster still live among us, although it happened thirty- 
three years ago. Of these are Capt. Marsh Miller, a pilot of 
the boat, Mr. App, the shoemaker, who leaped from the roof 
of the boat into a coop of turkeys to save his legs from being 



1 Captain Klienfelter and not Captain Marshall was in charge of the Penn- 
sylvania wh'en lost. — Ed. 



398 Gould's history of river navigation. 

broken, and others. Capt. J. H. Freligh, recently deceased, 
was chief clerk at the time, and he was the recipient of a fine 
silver set by our citizens, owing to his having successfully 
cared for a round sum of money which was entrusted to his 
keeping for account of our banks and their customers. Capt. 
John T. Shirle}', of this city, a passenger, was called upon by 
Capt. Church to assist the other passengers ashore, and he 
came near losing his own life in his efforts. Mr. Charles 
Richards, one of the crew, saved the life of Capt. Shirley and 
also that of Capt. Marsh Miller. Many acts of heroism were 
recorded at the time. In April, 1859, the steamer St. Nich- 
olas, Capt. Oliver McMullen exploded her boilers below this 
city and many perished. A benefit was given the sufferers at 
the theater here by M. W. Canning, the manager, on which 
occasion Miss Vandenhoff recited an original poem. In 
more recent years other disasters have occurred which sur- 
passed them in horror and loss of life. The R. J. Lockwood 
was blown up near President's Island over twenty years ago 
and many perished. 

EXPLOSION OF THE SULTANA. 

The Sultana, carrying tubular boilers, exploded near Har- 
rison's place, some fifteen miles above this city, in April, 
1865, and 1,600 people, nearly all national soldiers going- 
home from the war; were lost. The boat floated down 
to the head of the Island above Mound City and sunk, the 
wreck now being covered with sand and a growth of wil- 
lows and cotton woods. The accident occurred before day, 
and the first tidings had of it here was the cries of the people 
as they floated by in the river on fragments of the wreck. 
Nearly as bad was the explosion of the great steamer, W. R. 
Arthur, in 1872, a short distance below Island 40. The 
wreck floated several miles and then sank, destroying many 
lives. Among the list of the lost was a man named Uhlen, 
from near Golconda, 111. He had been cotton planting near 
Greenville, Miss., and after five years or so of hard labor had 
accummulated $30,000, all of which he had with him. The 
whole family and the money was lost by the disaster, also Dan 
Stark, a well known flatboatman. The towboat Warner blew 
up directly opposite the city about 1875, and half of the crew 
were killed or crippled. One of the worst of the list of dis- 
asters was the burning of the Golden City, April, 30, 1884. 
When about to make the landing at the foot of Beal street, 
about daybreak, the boat was found to be in flames. The 
pilot headed for shore, ran on a raft or flatboat and ms\ny 



DECLINE OF STEAMBOAT TONNAGE. 399 

made their way ashore. The boat swung out into the river 
and a number were lost, several women and children being of 
the \ht. 

As an evidence of the rapid decline of steamboating on 
Western rivers, the following tigures will bear testimony:: — 

The tonnage built in 1881, was over 80,000. In 1883, it 
was only 26,000. In 1884, it was 16,000. In 1885, it was 
10,000. In 1887, it was about the same. 

The number of steamboats built in 1864 was greater than 
ever before or since, and nggregated 2.50, the tonnage of which 
was 148,000. 

LARGEST CARGO OF COTTON. 

The largest cargo of cotton ever floated on one bottom was 
carried into New Orleans April 2, 1881, by the steamer Henry 
Frank, Capt. Hicks, and amounted to 9,226 bales, with 250 
tons of other freight. The Henry Frank made twelve trips 
that season, carrying into New Orleans a total of 76,009 bales 
of cotton, 28,218 sacks of seed, 13,675 sacks of oil cake, 
1,225 barrels of oil and other freights. Her consort, the iron 
steamer Chouteau, carried the same season 76,950 bales of 
<!otton, 30,088 sacks of seed, 15,335 sacks of oil cake and 
other freights. The two packets carried in two years into 
Nev/ Orleans 337,000 bales of cotton. Much of this cotton 
was shipped from ^Memphis direct. The iron steamer Chou- 
teau carried in, next to the Frank, the heaviest single cargo of 
cotton — 8,841 bales; the James Howard, 7,700 bales; the 
Mary Bell, 7,108 bales; the Ed Richardson, 7,084 bales; the 
J. M. White, 6,765 bales; and the Natchez, 6,500 bales — a 
total by the eight boats of 61,033 bales. The Autocrat, a 
great steamer in the '40s, carried 5,000 bales into New Or- 
leans, and her great achievement was pictured conspicuously 
on the can va?, painted by a celebrated artist of St. Louis, Leon 
Pomerede, who descended the Mississippi from St. Paul to 
New Orleans in a small boat, painting a panorama from 
sketches. This was afterward exhibited in the leading cities 
of Europe, as well as in this country. The Autocrat, Capt. 
J. W. Goslee, was a noted craft in her day, and her fame was 
added to by the picture of Pomerede. Up to the interstate 
war no cargo of more than 6,000 bales of cotton was ever 
carried at one time, and this was by the big Magnolia when 
she ran in the Vicksburg trade. Another Magnolia preceded 
the one mentioned, was a favorite passenger boat in the New 
Orleans and Vicksburg trade, and Capt. St. Clair Thomas- 
son, her commander, was the most aristocratic boatman of 
that or any generation. More anecdotes were current on 



400 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Thomasson than any other boatman, unless exceptions be 
made of Capt. Billy Forsythe, of the Columbia, and Capt. 
James Lee. The two first named have lono- since been gath- 
ered to their fathers. 

STEAMERS GRAND TURK AND JOHN SIMONDS. 

The great passenger steamer, John Simonds, built at Pitts- 
burgh in the year 1850, or thereabout, at a cost of not far 
from $100,000, was a mammoth three decker, at first com- 
manded by Newman Robbirds, who had previously run with 
great success the Grand Turk, in the days when the best boats 
included a fleet, in part of which was the Mameluke, Sarah 
Bladen, Eudora, Glencoe, Marshal Ney,Josiah Lawrence, Alex 
Scott and a host of others. The John Simonds was first run 
in the St, Louis and New Orleans trade, but was sold to run 
between Memphis and New Orleans, and she was the banner 
boat of a fleet which for ten years preceding the interstate 
war was the pride of the people here and along the rich and 
productive valleys to the south of us as far as Vicksburg. 
These boats always went and came crowded with freight and 
people, and their traffic did~ not fall much below a round 
$10,000 per trip for each boat during the active business sea- 
son. Capt. Church_laid the foundation of the ample fortune 
he accumulated while running on this famous line of boats, and 
others of the fleet also lived and reared their families in good 
style among us. A balance sheet or trip report of the steamer 
John Simonds, made up by the boat's clerk, the late J. H. 
Freligh, for fifteen days from New Orleans to Memphis and 
return, March 21 and April 4, 1857, inclusive, reads as fol- 
lows : — 

Up. Down. Total. 

Receipts for freight $2,817 20 .$0,470 80 $ 9,288 

Receipts for passage 1,322 50 743 50 2,066 

Total for trip $4,139 70 $7,214 30 $11,354 



Expenditures — 

For wood $2,036 60 

For crew's wages 2,498 15 

For stores 1,577 81 

Expense 1,575 67 — $7,628 23 

Net gain on the trip $3,725 77 



This, it will be seen, was thirty-one years ago, and the boat's 
expenses then was a little more than $500 per day, while re- 



MEMPHIS AS A STEAMBOAT CENTER. 401 

ceipts were slightl}' above $750 per day. The Simonds was 
destroyed during the war, during the early part of which she 
worked in the interest of the Southerners." 

A line was also formed to run from Memphis to Cumber- 
land River, a line of three boats, viz. : I. G. Cline, Jchn 
Simpson, and Cit}' of Huntsville. They like the Louisville 
line was obliged to withdraw for the same reason 

There was at the same time running to Cincinnati, a line of 
live boats, viz. : Glendale, Josephine, ]\[emphis. Silver 
Moon and John Swasey. 

To Napoleon, Daniel Boone, Frisbee, H. D. Means, Ken- 
tucky and Victory. 

To White River, the Kanawha Valley, Return, Admiral, A. 
W. Turner and General Pike. There was runnino- to St. 
Francis River numbers one, two and three, Saint Francis. 

It was claimed that during the palmy days of steamboats 
Memphis was represented by thirty boats, either owned or 
made that their home port, and the record confirms the claim. 



MEMPHIS AND ST. LOUIS PACKET COMPANY 

developed into the great Anchor Line. 

Amons: the first and immediatelv succeeding the organiza- 
tion of the St. Louis and New Orleans '* Railroad Line of 
Steamers," a line was organized to run between St. Louis 
and Memphis and was chartered in 1859 as the "Memphis 
and St. Louis Packet Company." Its stock was made up by 
the appraised value of the different boats that composed the 
line. Capt. Daniel Able was its first president. Succeeded 
in a few years by Wm. J. Lewis, who in turn was succeeded 
by John J. Roe. During this period the company added 
several new boats and did a large and prosperous business. 
Before Capt. Roe died the line was extended to Vicksburg, 
and greatly improved by adding some of the finest boats that 
had ever before been run in the trade. 

Capt. Henry W. Smith was for several years acting as the 
Superintendent of the company and to his enterprise and per- 
severance great credit is due for the success and popularity of 
the line. He succeeded Capt. Roe to the presidency, and 
through his ability and practical steamboat knowledge, the 
company built and owned the finest and the fastest line of 
steamers that had ever run upon Western waters up to that 
time if not in the world. 

26 



402 Gould's history of river navigation. 



ST. LOUIS ANCHOR LINE. 

The Memphis Line was finally merged into the St. Louis 
and Vicksburg line, and as the I'ailroads extended their lines 
south, the Packet Company gradually withdrew from the Mem- 
phis trade and extended their line to New Orleans, runnins: a 
part of their boats to Vicksburg and part of them to New Or- 
leans under the style and name of "Anchor Line." 

As a practical steamboat and business man, Capt, Smith had 
no superiors and but few equals in the profession. And his 
death was not only a great loss to the company he had so long 
and ably managed, but a public calamity. His experience was 
varied as a business man, and his judgment of men and things 
rendered his councils of value upon many subjects besides that 
of a steamboatman. His ambition so far exceeded his vitality, 
that his life terminated in the midst of a useful career, lamented 
by all who knew him, in 1870 . 

Capt. Jno. A. Scudder succeeded to the presidency, after 
the death of Capt. Smith, and under his judicipus manage- 
ment the reputation of the company has been sustained and has 
probably paid to the stockholders a larger amount in dividends 
than any other steaml)oat company in the world. Capt. John P. 
Keiser succeeded Capt. Smith as superintendent, and under his 
skill as a builder and a practical boatman, the company re- 
tained its prestige for tine boats, which were excelled by none, 
but improved by each additional boat, from the yard of the 
famous " Howards " at Jeffersonville. 

In this connection it is proper to add that a principal cause 
for the improved excellence of this companys' boats arose 
from the fact that it was able to pay for everything that 
would contribute to an improvement, and having all of its 
work done at one yard, and by a firm pecuniarily relial)le, each 
succeeding boat could easily be improved upon. 

Mr. Scudder has been associated with the company as Secre- 
tary, President, or Vice-President, ever since the organization ot 
the Memphis and St. Louis Company in 1859. For many years 
he was its chief officer, and only retired from the presidency one 
year to recuperate his energies, and during that time was re- 
lieved by Capt. Keiser, until 1888, when he resigned the 
presidency in favor of Capt. I. M. Mason. 

This company still maintains its organization intact, and 
has the entire control of the passenger and freightbusiness be- 
tween St. Louis and points on the Mississippi River above New 
Orleans, so far as the river is concerned. 



PHENOMENAL SUCCESS OF THE ANCHOR LINE. 403 

" The Barge Company " divide shipments to and from New 
Orleans with the Anchor Line, and bring frcim there the bull? of 
fi'eight destined for St. Louis. The Anchor Line also continues 
to keep up its trade to Grand Tower, although often tenipo- 
larily attacked by outside boats. This company is the only 
one running from St. Louis that has been able to withstand 
the railroad pressure unimpaired, or retain enough of its 
business to make dividends from, except the " Barge Line." 

The phenomenal success that resulted to this company 
arose largely from the effects of the civil war. The trade that 
had heretofore sought New Orleans as its outlet and market 
was diverted to the North, even before the close of hostilities. 
The demoralization and bankruptcy of everything like busi- 
ness in the South was so universal that a change of base was 
rendered necessary for a time at least. 

The iMemphis Packet Company was partially intact, having 
been organized a year or two before the commencement of the 
war. As soon as Memphis was captured by the Federal 
forces, the trade between St. Louis and ]Memi)his was re- 
newed, ^yith the addition that the immense^transportation of 
troops and munitions of war gave to it. The same result 
occurreil as the Federal authority gained possession of the 
country further South, and when the war terminated the field 
was opened for a commercial conquest second only to that 
which had been secured by the armies of the North polit- 
ically. 

This company was in position to avail itself of the opening. 
The stockholders being prominent business men and large 
provision dealers, were not slow to discover that the South 
needed more than all else, provisions, stock and farmino- 
utensils. These they had to dispose of, and abundant means 
to provide the boats to deliver them to the market that had 
been so literally stripped of all the necessaries of life by a de- 
vastating war of more than four years. Through the energy 
and foresight of the managers it proved itself equal to the 
emergency and reaped a rich reward, from which they have 
principally retired, except Mr. Scudder, who still stands as a 
sentry, watching the gradual approach of the devastating cy- 
clone that has almost swept from the Mississippi Valley the 
immense tieets of "floating palaces" that so recently gave 
pleasure, profit and employment to so many persons. 

Those that remain, beside this company, as a rule are only 
dragging out a miserable existence for the benefit of the few 
who can gain a subsistence in no other vocation, and it seems 
only a question of time when river transportation must be 



404 Gould's history of river navigation. 

limited to heavy articles in bulk, on good navigable waters, 
and to short packet trades, where it is not practicable to build 
railroads. 

On such streams as the Missouri and Arkansas, it is follj 
to ask Congress to appropriate large sums, with the expecta- 
tion of making them permanent avenues for commerce. They 
can never compete with a railroad built along each bank, or 
near it. 

It may seem a plausible argument at present, to urge that 
a water route serves to regulate and modify railroad tariffs. 
But the time will soon come, if not already here, when a water 
course that is frozen up one-fourth part of the time and dried 
up as much longer will not be considered a formidable regu- 
lator to anything. 

It is a misfortune that this subject is not better understood 
by the people in the States bordering on the Mississippi, Mis- 
souri, and Arkansas Rivers. 

FALLACY OF IMPROVING SOME RIVERS. 

The more money the government is induced to expend in 
the improvement of the water-ways not possible to be made 
successful competitors with land carriage, the less probable it 
is to make appropriations for such streams as are susceptible 
of valuable improvements, as the result is sure to be made 
manifest sooner or later, even to those who have no practical 
knowledge or observation on the subject. The Mississippi 
River and the tributaries on the east side generally are sus- 
ceptible of any amount of improvement that may be neces- 
sary to accommodate the commerce they control, and by 
united effort on the part of delegations in Congress from the 
Mississippi Valley as much money as can be judiciously ex- 
pended may be secured. 



BOARD OF STEAM NAVIGATION. 405 



CHAPTEE LYII. 

NATIONAL BOARD OF STEAM NAVIGATION, ITS ORIGIN AND ITS 

PURPOSES. 

AN initiatory convention was held at Louisville on the 15th 
of November, 1871, in which representatives of water 
transportation from twenty States were present. 

The af>;o;regate amount of capital represented was estimated 
at one billion six hundred million dollars, which was in- 
vested in steam vessels operating on rivers, lakes and bays in 
the United States. This general uprising of steamboat 
owners from every part of the country was precipitated by 
the passage of a neiu steamboat laio, enacted at the previous ses- 
sion of Congress. 

It was substituted for the old law of 1851 and claimed to be 
an improvement on that law, which had failed to keep pace 
with the rapid development of steam navigation in the pre- 
vious twenty years. The new law was prepared at the sug- 
gestion of the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Boutell, a Massa- 
chusetts man, who knew nothing of Western river navigation, 
and probably of no other. It was said the Board of Super- 
vising Inspectors had much to do with the new provisions of 
that bill. But careful inquiry failed to divulge any connec- 
tion of the Board with it, although they got the credit of it 
in some degree. But it bore the marks of bunglers rather 
than experts, and it was considered an insult to the thousands 
of those in the business who had spent a life time in acquiring 
a knowledge of its necessities. 

To modify, or amend, this new law, and to make it practi- 
cal and consistent in its operations, was the object of the con- 
vention. 

After a session of three days, in which all the material 
points were discussed and the views of the convention well 
understood, a committee of five was appointed, representing 
the different sections of the country, to draft and prepare a 
new steamboat bill, or amend the existing kw, to suit the 
necessities, as in their judgment might seem best. 

The foUowinof names were selected on this committee : Chas. 
P. Coupland, of New York; T. G. Whiting, Detroit; T. G. 
Stockdale, Pittsburgh; Thomas Sherlock, Cincinnati; E. W. 
Gould, St. Louis. B. S. Osborn, of New York, was elected 



40() Gould's history or kiveu navigation. 

Secretary. The committee agreed to meet at Pittsburgh a few 
weeks later, to carry out the instructions of the convention, 
which then adjourned, to meet at Washington, D. C. on the 
call of the committee. 

The committee met at Pittsburgh early in December, and 
proceeded to the performance of the duty assigned them — 
which, as the sequel proved, was a task they were quite equal 
to, but enacting the bill into a law, was another matter. 

After a session of eight or ten days they adjourned to meet 
at Washington a few^ days later, where their duties were re- 
sumed. Numerous interviews were had with members of 
Congress on the subject of the new law and the necessity for 
one. Mr. Conger, the member of Congress from Michigan, who 
had been employed by the Treasury Department to frame the 
new law, was at first antagonistic to the committee and their 
object, but wasgradualij' won over by the arguments presented 
and subsequently became convinced that some amendments to 
the hiw were necessary. After much discussion it was de- 
cided to take the law as it then stood and proceed, section by 
section, to so amend each as to make it practical and con- 
sistent, so far as was possible. 

The law contained over seventy sections, many of which 
were engrafted from the old steamboat law of 1851, when the 
character and condition of navigation and of commerce were 
very different and the law was not applicable to present neces- 
sities. 

After close and careful application for several weeks the 
committee issued a call to the representatives at the National 
Convention held at Louisville the previous year, to again as- 
semble at Washington. 

The call was liberally responded to, and a large convention 
assembled. 

The bill, as prepared by the committee, was submitted for 
indorsement or amendment l)y the convention. And after 
careful revision and such amendments as seemed to the con- 
vention necessary, it was approved and the convention ad- 
journed, subject to call by the icommittee. 

At this point the trouble commenced. The vital mistake 
had been made, but was not discovered until too late to over- 
come it. The convention had " counted without its host." 

After the bill was completed and ready for introduction in 
Congress, as a matter of courtes}^ the committee called at the 
Treasury office, to ask the indorsement and co-operation of 
the Secretary (Mr. Boutwell) in securing its passage. They 
were referred to the Assistant Secretary (Mr. Richardson), 



MK. CONKLING AND THE STEAMBOAT BILL. 407 

who later succeeded Mr. Boutwell, who appointed a meeting 
with the committee the next morning at 10 o'clock. 

The committee called at the ap})onited time, and were 
cavalierly told the assistant had concluded not to see the com- 
mittee. 

Then the mistake begun to loom up. The committee had 
been in Washington some weeks and were known to be prepar- 
ing an important bill to control a great industr}' wdiich the 
Treasury Department had under its direction, and which by 
inference was a direct reflection upon the new law, which had 
so recently largely emanated from that department. 

A consultation was at once had with members of Congress 
and those who were friends of the bill in both branches of 
Congress, without reference to the Treasury officials. In- 
fluential members contended it was not the duty nor the 
prerogative of the Treasury Department to make laws, but to 
execute them, and there was no doubt but that the bill could 
be passed and become a law in spite of Treasury officials. 

Two bills were introduced. One in the Senate by Judge 
Thurman, of Ohio, one in the House by Gen. Negley, of 
Pennsylvania. 

They were favorably received and referred to the appropri- 
ate committee — that on commerce. 

The Chairman of the Senate committee was Mr. Conkling, of 
New York, who, at the request of Mr. Boutwell (it is charged) 
put the hill in liis pocket. 

The committee of the House proceeded to examine the bill 
and summoned experts from many places before them, to 
take testimony upon all points they needed to enable them to 
make an intelligent report on the bill. 

No bill was ever more thoroughly discussed in committee or 
better understood. 

It was unanimously indorsed by the committee and passed 
the House, almost unanimously, tliree (liferent times, during 
as many succeedirig Congresses. 

No effort on the part of Senators ever succeeded in getting 
a report from the Senate Committee on the bill, although 
many attempts w^ere made by Judge Thurman and others. 
Mr. Conkling remained Chairman of that committee as long as 
he remained in Congress. This factious o])position to a bill 
so generally indorsed induced, of course, many unkind, un- 
complimentary remarks. 

Those who remember Mr. Conkling in Congress, or out of it, 
know full w^ell the effect of irritating remarks to him, or of him. 

Unfortunately, perhaps, in this connection, the Secretary 



408 Gould's history of kiver navigation. 

of the Executive Committee who had prepared the bill, was 
the publisher of a marine newspaper in New York known as 
the Xautical Gazette. 

Mr. Osbon, the editor, was a bright, vigorous writer, but 
it was often thought, with more zeal than discretion. In this 
instance it undoubtedly proved to be so. While he was fully 
alive to the interests of steam navigation, and understood per- 
fectly the necessities and the rights of seamen (having been a 
sailor himself ), he fearlessly defended their claimsin his paper, 
and the invective of his pen cut both ways when defending his 
position. The exalted status of a United States Senator was 
no protection to him, if he crossed Osbon's path, and nothing 
suited him better than to have carte blanche to open his guns 
on any one who opposed him. 

The experience at that early day of the Executive Committee 
had not convinced them that the influence of a small, factious 
minority in Congress, could not be overcome by outside pres- 
sure, and they did not attempt to restrain Mr. Osbon, their 
secretary. The result was, the breach between the Treasury 
Department and Mr. Conkling on the one side, and the steam- 
boat interest on the other, was made wider instead of being 
healed. 

EXECUTIVE C031xMITTEE AND THE THIRD HOUSE. 

The "steamboat bill" dragged its slow length along from 
one Congress to another for several years, always being repre- 
sented in the third house by members of the Executive Com- 
mittee, who lost no opportunity of urging its claims and 
discussing its merits, until it became as familiar to members 
of Congress as it was to the authors themselves. 

Probably there has never been a bill introduced into any 
American Congress that has been more thoroughly discussed 
and better understood than this steamboat l)iil. Not because 
it was of more importance, but because it was so persistently 
oppposed and without the reason of the opposition being known 
to one in twenty of its friends. 

In the first years of its advent in Congress it had as indus- 
trious and careful champions as there was in either body. 
Gen. James S. Negley in the House, acted as its chief cham- 
pion and carried it triumphantly though almost unanimously. 
Judge Thurman did all that could be done to get a report 
on the bill, and had it been reported there w^s no doubt of its 
passage at that time, notwithstanding the opposition. 

During all those years the National Convention continued 
to hold its adjourned annual meetings at different places. 



REORGANIZATION OF THt: NATIONAL BOAUD. 409 

notably, Buffalo, Cleveland, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Norfolk, 
Washington, New York, at which meetings the report of the 
Executive Committee, on the status of the " steamboat bill " 
and its prospects, was the principal subject of discussion. 

New officers were elected and a new Executive Committee 
named, with instructions to again repair to Washington at the 
meeting of Congress, and resume the effort to secure the pas- 
sage of the bill. 

They were authorized to make, and did make, amendments 
and such changes as seemed to overcome all opposition to any 
and all the provisions of the bill, except that of the liability 
clause on inland waters, that was so manifestly a necessity 
that no amendment could be entertained, and it was referred 
to by those v/ho had arrayed themselves- under Mr. Conkling's 
lead more for the purpose of sustaining him and the interests 
he repi'esented than for any harm that could result from the 
passage of the bill as proposed. 

At a meetings of the convention at Cleveland it was determined 
to oriranize into a permanent association, and the " National 
Board of Steam Navigation" was the result. By-laws were 
enacted and officers elected and an executive committee 
appointed, whose duties, as prescribed, were about the same 
as that committee had been charged with by the first conven- 
tion at Louisville. Some members of the original committee, 
notably Messrs Copeland, Shirlock and AVhiting, stood boldly 
to the point for several years, and never a session of Congress 
convened that one or all of them was not present to insist 
upon the enactment of the " steamboat bill." 

While the bill as a whole has not to this day become a law, 
sections of it have been enacted, and the old law in some parts 
has been so modified that less hardships are endured, and less 
inconveniences felt. 

The National Board of Steam Navigation still maintains its 
organization, and holds its annual meetings in New York. 

But so far as the Northern Lakes and the Mississippi Valley 
is concerned, it seems to have exhausted itself and lost its 
usefulness and its interest. 

Although the ostensible object for which the organization 
was so long and so persistently maintained was not entirely 
successful, there is no doubt much good has resulted to navi- 
gation, if all the legislation that was asked was not secured, 
much damaging legislation was prevented and the wants of 
different parts of the country are better understood and a 
remedy for evils endured more easily provided. 

If ever water transportation again comes to the front, and 



410 GOULU'S HISTOUY OF KIVER NAVIGATION. 

uutional legislation is necc'ssaiy to protect it, the long expe- 
rience of the National Board, will be of signal service. 

It is axiom in war never to underestimate the forces of 
the enemy. It applies with equal force to factious legisla- 
tors. In this struggle the doctrine of the " survival of the 
fittest" has not been sustained, although the "National 
Board of Steam Navigation" still lives as. a practical factor 
in national legislation. 

NATIONAL BOARD OF .sTP:AM NAMGATIOX. 

Washington, October 7, 1881. 
lo lite Edilor of the Posl-DispatdL, St. Louis: 

After a session of two days the National Board of Steam 
Navigation adjourned last evening to meet at Cairo, III., with 
the intention of holding their next annual meeting on board a 
Mississippi River steamer, during her passage from that point 
to New Orleans. The time was not definitely fixed, but 
during the autumn or earlj^ winter of next year. 

This proposition coming from Eastern members, it was con- 
sidered by those from the West as a step in the right direction, 
tending to awaken a more lively interest in the minds of 
"Western and Southern members in the objects of this organiz- 
ation, and to atibrd Eastern and Northern members a more 
adequate idea of the importance of Western river commerce. 

The report of standing committees, the appointment of 
new ones, the election of officers and the appointment of del- 
egates to attend the River Improvement Convention to be 
held in St. Louis on 26th of October, together with the usual 
routine business of similar organizations, were the principal 
subjects brought before the board at this meeting. 

The attendance from the "West and South was small. But 
a fair attendance from the East, many of the members having 
their ladies with them. 

It was evidently a mistake calling the meeting at so early a 
day, especially at Washington. If called here at all it should 
have been during the session of Congress, as this is the busiest 
season of the year for all eno;ao;ed in steam navigation. 

The steamboat bill, as it is called, which has been hanging 
fire in Congress for several years in charge of the Executive 
Committee, elicited considerable discussion upon the reading of 
the report of the chairman of the committee. But the opin- 
ion prevailed decidedly that a bill as carefully prepared and 
so just and necessary for the promotion of steam navigation 
as it, ought not to be abandoned without one more effort to 
secure its passage by Congress. 



KEFUJV'DIXG THE LICENSE FEES. 411 

Capt.eTohn N. Bofinger, who has been chairman of the execu- 
tive committee for the last two years, having tendered his resig- 
nation on account of not having the necessar}' leisure to devote, 
Gen.Jas. S. Neglej^jOf Pittsburgh, was elected to fill the vacancy 
who, together with other members of the board, will be in 
attendance at Washington during the next session of Consi'ess, 
when it is believed they will succeed in securing the passage 
of the bill, since the })rincipal obstacle to its passage has re- 
cently passed under a cloud by resigning his position in the 
Senate. 

A delegation from the board called to-day to pay their 
respects to the new President, who received them very courte- 
ously and assured them it would aUbrd him great pleasure 
to contribute in any way he could consistently to the advanc- 
ment of the objects of the board and to the interests of steam 
navigation. 

After a brief interview^ the delegation retired w^ith the full 
conviction that in the new President the business interests of 
the country had nothing to fear, but a very able advocate and 
fast friend. Respectfully yours, 

E. W. Gould. 

[From the Marine Journal.] 

Los Angeles, Cal., Aug. 16, 1886. 
Editor Marine Journal: 

I see Congress has at last adjourned, and, so far as I know, 
the committee to whom the bill for rebate of license fees was 
referred failed to report ; and of course that measure, like 
hundreds of others of less merit, remains for future action. 

There seems no good reason why a claim of that character 
and magnitude should not receive favorable consideration at 
the hands of Congress. 

Pension claims are popular on the ground that the money 
is supposed to be paid to an indigent class of citizens, who 
have rendered valuable service to the Government. 

The same class of citizens have paid an unjust tax to the 
Government which they ask to have refunded, and I believe 
it is only a question of time when it will be refunded, if the 
claimants press their claims with the same energy and deter- 
mination that many other claims are urged. But it can only 
be done by a more unanimous etibrt by the individuals in 
interest, with their resjjective representatives in Congress. 

The time is rapidly- approaching for the annual meeting of 



412 Gould's history or river navigation. 

the National Board of Steam Navio-ation, and I regret to 
think circumstances may prevent my being present at that 
pleasant reunion. 

It has so long been my privilege to meet with the board on 
these oft-returning anniversaries, I regret exceedingly my in- 
ability to attend this one — not that my presence will be 
missed or my counsels needed. 

But it is pleasant to meet with old friends who have so long 
been engaged in the same object, and especially when success, 
long deferred, has to any extent been attained. 

This I think the Board can congratulate itself upon having 
secured, after so many years of persistent effort. 

While much has been accomplished there still remain im- 
portant matters in which all interested in the great industry 
of steam navigation, are more or less interested, and for which 
the Board was organized. 

The benetits are not alone for what has been accomplished 
in Congress, but for what has been prevented by damaging 
legislation in the interest of individuals ever since its organi- 
zation. 

I trust the interest that has sometimes lagged in the Board 
for want of success and on account of changes and the want 
of material aid, will be overcome by the present younger and 
more vigorous management, and that greater results may yet 
reward them for their very laudable and vigorous efforts. 

As the season of the year is favorable and New York has 
many other attractions to draw a large number of visitors 
there, I hope to learn that a large and enthusiastic meeting of 
the Board has been held, and if so I have no doubt of the 
result. 

The steam navigation of the country is largely dependent 
upon the public press for information and for avenues by 
which the public is made familiar with its wants and its acts. 

If all that are interested in this great industry would give 
it the attention The Marine Journal does, it would not be so 
difficult to secure legitimate legislation or large and enthusias- 
tic meetings of the National Board. 

The principal steam navigation interests of this coast are 
owned by railroads, and is only a secondary consideration 
with them, consequently there never has been much interest 
felt in the efforts of the Board here. 

Railroads, as you know, are parallel with all water routes, 
and steamboats are fast becoming things of the past, so far 
as inland navigation is concerned. 

I trust my business relations here may be such that I can 



LETTER TO ST. LOUIS REPUBLICAN. 413 

consistently return to Washington this full, and if the Presi- 
dent desires a substitute for General Dnmont's position, my 
services can be made available in the absence of all others. 

E. AV. Gould. 

In sketching the history of the National Board the follow- 
ing communications, extracted from papers of the day, may 
not, at this late day, be uninteresting to those who have been 
associated in its objects: — 

We publish below a letter from Capt. E. W. Gould, who 
was one of the two representatives from St. Louis to the 
National Convention of the Board of Steam Navigation. It 
is but justice to Capt. Gould to say that to his untiring energy 
and perseverance in a forty-years' connection with the interests 
of Western waters that to him is due more than perhaps to 
any other one man whatever of river improvement has been 
instigated by general and State government. It was his zeal 
in the cause of the removal of obstructions in the AYestern 
waters that the government put the snag-boats to work, which 
though as yet incapable from the small number employed of 
doing all that boatmen could desire, yet, with the demonstra- 
tions of the utility of these appliances, and a few more 
live workers like Capt. Gould to battle for more river 
rights, we can yet have our water-courses free from obstruc- 
tions, and deeper channels for the avenues of commerce. 
Capt. Gould was President of the Atlantic & Mississippi 
Steamship Company, also President of • the Wrecking Com- 
pany, formerl}' owned by Eads & Nelson, and is now the hard 
working President of the Missouri River Packet Company. — 
St. Louis Repuhlican. 

Buffalo, Sept. 4, 1874. 

EivER Editor Republican — Dear /Sir: The "National 
Board of Steam Navagation" which adjourned from Philadel- 
phia one year since to this place has just closed its annual ses- 
sion to meet again in New York on the first Wednesday of 
September next. 

There were a large number of delegates present from nearly 
all important parts of the country excepting those on the 
Mississippi, representing some seven millions of capital. 

Many regrets were expressed that St. Louis, Memphis and 
New Orleans had lost their interest in the important results 
anticipated from this organization, and failed almost entirely 
to be represented at the two last annual meetings. 

Had it not been for the courtesy of the Pittsburgh delega- 
tion, the writer would have been the only representative from 



414 Gould's histoky of river navigation. 

the Mississippi river. C;ipt. R. C. Gray kindly volunteered 
to act as my colleague. But for reasons unknown to me, 
that deleo'ation declined to give him up, but proposed Capt. 
Wm. J. Kountz as a substitute. All those who know Ca[)t. 
Kountz as a delegate in any body in which he is interested, 
know that he has courage, firmness and force of language 
sufficient to protect any interest he represents, and in justice 
to him I may add St. Louis was not left with a single repre- 
sentation, although their apparent indifference in sending del- 
egates resulted in their being entirely ignored in the reorgan- 
ization of the Board , or in the election of its officers the 
ensuing year. 

Thinking to revive the interest that was once felt on the 
Mississippi, and give new life to the great interest we repre- 
sented, we, the St. Louis delegation, assisted by other dele- 
gates from the West, made a vigorous effort to secure St. 
Louis as the place for next annual meeting to be held. 

But we had neither the numbers nor inlluence, and New 
York was Hxed as the place of meeting, although the East 
was far behind the Mississippi in inaugurating any steps 
towards reformino- or amending the navigation laws of the 
country, or of correcting the many abuses to which the navi- 
gation interests are subjected. 

But the temporary cloud under which this great interest is 
now suffering in the West is not the only one that is 
depressed. I find the same stagnation upon the lakes, and, 
to a great extent, at the East. And even the railroads, that 
are charged with bringing upon us all our misfortunes, are 
far from l)eing happy. And when they fail to tind foreign 
capital to invest in their bonds, through such patriots as Jay 
Cook &. Co., and are obliged to build and run their roads as 
steamboats are, a brighter day will dissipate the gloom that 
now pervades navigation circles. 

We have suffered long and seriously for the want of more 
consistent legislation. We have been loaded down with ex- 
actions and expensive inspection laws, made by men who 
know nothing and care less for the great marine commerce of 
the nation. 

Our rivers have been obstructed by railroad bridges, wrecks, 
&c., until the cost of insurance of boats and cargo amounts 
now almost to prohibition. 

And yet when an organization is formed and placed under 
the direction of some of the most practical ship and steam- 
boat owners, engineers and business men in the country, for 
the express purpose of relieving the embarrassments under 



RESULT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING AT BUFFALO. 415 

which we have been so long suffering, miiny of our people 
fold their hands and virtually say, we can da nothing, or that 
we have tried long enough, or that the railroads have got 
possession of the rivers as well as the public domain, &c., &c. 

I speak with confidence when I say I believe, as far as leg- 
islation is concerned, that there never was a time when mem- 
bers of Congress were so well disposed, and so well aware 
of the necessity of doing something to protect and foster this 
great interest as at the present moment, and this is the result 
of the recent combined effort from all parts of the country 
through the organization of the National Board of Steam Nav- 
igation, which had its origin at a convention held at Louis- 
ville in 1870. 

To be sure but little has yet been accomplished practically, 
although there is good reason to believe the way has been pre- 
pared by which great benefit may be realized, if those inter- 
ested are true to themselves and the interest they represent. 

All that is necessary for them to do is to unite their efforts 
and join with those already in the field in urging upon mem- 
bers of Congress the necessary reforms in the navigation and 
inspection laws, and also the importance of increased appropria- 
tions for the improvement of river navigation and the protec- 
tion of these great arteries of commerce for present use as 
well as for the benefit of future generations. For the purpose 
of deriving some more immediate relief in the interest of 
Western transportation, the delegates from Western ports as- 
sumed the responsibility of issuing a call for a mass conven- 
tion to be held in St. Louis on the 30th of the present month, 
hoping thereby to secure the attendance of large delegations 
from all parts of the South and West, with the hope of agree- 
ing upon some plan by which the ruinous competition now ex- 
isting may be avoided. 

As this is a subject addressing itself directly to our present 
necessities it is to be hoped the call may be fully indorsed, and 
the convention largely attended. 

I had intended to have written more at length upon the do- 
ings at the meeting of the National Board, and of its reception 
by the Buffalo local board. But having continued my letter 
upon incidental subjects so long, I must defer further remarks 
and refer those interested to the published proceedings. 

I will say, however, in closing, that the meeting was entirely 
harmonious, and many subjects of interest were discussed and 
a most instructive and eloquent address was made by Geo. B. 
Hibbard, Esq., of Buffalo, upon the subject of maritime law. 

Mr. Hibbard is recognized as one of the best admiralty 



416 Gould's history of eiver navigation. 

lawyers in the country, and entirely familiar with the present <^ 
defective system of laws governing the navigation and trans- 
portation interests of this nation. 

Before the final adjournment we were treated to a sumptu- 
ous repast on board one of their magnificent iron steamers, 
while making an excursion of several miles around the harbor, 
and in visiting their numerous elevators, iron-works, shipping, 
etc. During this elegant banquet, given by the hospitality of 
the Buffalo "local board" and the friends of navigation in 
this city, we have had the pleasure of listening to many elo- 
quent speeches and suggestive remarks, inspired by the pres- 
ence of a large number of ladies, and the influence of the pre- 
vailing spmVs of the occasion. E. W. Gould. 



CHAPTER LYIII. 

MISSOURI RIVER PACKET COMPANIES. 

THE Missouri River, although one of the most difficult and 
dangerous of all the rivers in the Mississippi Valley to 
navigate, from the large number of snags, sand bars, caving 
banks and rapid currents, saying nothing of the still more 
damaging obstructions authorized by Congress, in the form of 
railroad bridges, which are a modern innovation, of course, 
still the river has been navigated by steamboats ever since the 
first trip of the Franklin in 1819, and with more or less suc- 
cess — generally less, from the fact that so much was neces- 
sary for insurance and repair of boats. 

The demand for transportation during the great rush of 
emigration to Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska, saying 
nothing of the California crow^ls, in 1849 and '50, induced 
boat owners to take great risks and to add large numbers of 
new boats to the trade. 

Such was the demand for pilots in that trade at one period 
that no price was too much for them to charge for their serv- 
ices, and the ability or skill of the pilot had but little to do 
with the compensation received. This writer calls to mind one 
instance just after the war when he paid $800 for piloting a 
boat to St. Joe and return, and the trip was made in less than 
eight days. 

In 1858 an organization similar in character to the " New 
Orleans Railroad Line," known as the " St. Louis and St. 
Joseph Union Packet Line," was formed, and was composed 



ST. LOUIS AND ST. JOSErH UNION PACKET CO. 417 

of twelve Missouri River steamboats, viz. : Peerless, Capt. 
Bissel ; Morning Star, Capt. Burke ; Silver Heels, Capt. Bar- 
ron; A. B. Chambers, Capt. Gillham; D. A. January, Capt. 
P. Gore; Minnehaha, Capt. C. Baker; Twilight, Capt. J. 
Shaw; Hesperian, Capt. F. C. Kercheval ; Southwestern, 
Capt. DeHaven; Ben Lewis, Capt. Brierly ; Sovereign, Capt. 
Hutchinson; Kate Howard, Capt. Jos. Nanson. 

This line was composed of good boats and run with regu- 
larity and gave great satisfaction to the business community, 
and especially to the traveling public, and gave promise of 
great success. Their regularity of leaving port and arriving 
at points along the river on schedule time was a new experi- 
ence on that river, so far as any line of boats had previously 
demonstrated, although individual boats had before that time 
been run on regular time. 

But the shortness of the navigation season and the dangers 
of navigation, together with the long distance over such pre- 
carious navigation, soon developed the impracticability of try- 
ing to sustain the line, and as it was only necessary to withdraw 
the boats at the option of the owners the organization did not 
longcontiniie its co-operation, but resolved itself back into in- 
dividual interests. Out of its integral parts other lines were 
formed and the fatality that so universally befell all Missouri 
steamboats at that period, soon disposed of the whole twelve 
beautiful boats of which the line was composed. 

In 1859 there was employed between St. Louis and Sioux 
City sixty regular boats during the spring months. Twenty- 
nine years later there was not a single boat with the exception 
of two or three small freight boats running at the extreme 
lower part of the river. 

MIAMI PACKET CO. 

Soon after the close of the war the "St. Louis & Miami 
Packet Company " was oiganized under the laws of the State 
of Illinois and had their official office at East St. Louis, 
business office on a wharf-boat at St. Louis. This was the 
first regularly organized joint stock company ever run on the 
Missouri River (except one chartered by the Legislature 
of Missouri known as the *' Lightning Line," in 1856-7). 
The officers were E. W. Gould, President ; C. S. Rogers, Vice- 
President; W. W. Ater, Secretary; Moses Hillard, Freight 
Agent. 

This company was organized to run from St. Louis to Miami. 
Subsequently extending the line to Lexington and ultimately to 
Kansas City — changing the name to " Missouri River Packet 

27 



418 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Company," and adding more boats, and increasing the stock, 
with a new board of directors and new oflBcers, W. J. Lewis, 
President. This was in 1871 and continued until the Kansas 
City organization which succeeded it in 1878. 

In 1870 the K. Line was organized to run with two boats, 
under the direction and ownership of Capt. Jo. Kinney, from 
St. Louis to Ghisgow and Miami, in competition with the Mis- 
souri Kiver Company. But a compromise was soon effected 
and the two lines were merged, leaving the Kansas City Packet 
Company in possession of the field. But the field was about 
all there was left of what was once a good line of boats and a 
remunerative business, although never able to make a divi- 
dend to the stockholders. The several companies that were 
merged into each other from time to time built quite a num- 
ber of boats and barges, besides purchasing many. That, to- 
gether with the frequent losses and the expense of repairs, 
absorbed the earnings, and the depreciation and insurance 
finally absorbed the boats. 

introduction of barges. 

The only thing that kept the company alive during the last 
few years of its existence was the introduction of barges, 
which this company was the first to introduce in the Missouri, 
and which enabled the boats to handle a large amount of busi- 
ness they never could have handled without them. 

Before the extinction of the Kansas City Packet Company, 
a part of the same owners formed what was known as the 
*' Belle St. Louis Transportation Company," and run their 
boats in the lower end of the river. But the railroads en- 
croached so rapidly upon the river commerce that it soon ab- 
sorbed all that was of value in it, and closed the river to this 
company as they had done to all others that preceded them. 
Until the organization of the Miami Packet Company running 
steamboats down stream at night was a thing seldom thought 
of, except in clear weather and a good stage of water. 

After this company started, laying up at night in any kind 
of weather or water was the exception. So too, in the use of 
barges. Before that period such a thing as towing barges in 
the Missouri River was thought to be presumption, and it was 
some years before the old boatmen and the underwriters could 
be educated up to the necessity of towing barges, in order to 
retain business enough on the river to compete with the rail- 
roads then running on either side of it. But it was only a 
question of time, and only a very short time, developed the 
fact that no steamboats need apply. 



EXPRESS AND PASSENGER ROUTE. 419 



OMAHA PACKET CO. 

Ill 1867 the St. Louis and Omaha Packet Co. was estab- 
lished. Joseph Naiison was the first President. The boats 
comprising the line were T. S. McGill, T. W. Shields, 
master ; Silver Bow, T. W. Rea, master ; Mary McDon- 
ald, Jno. Greenough, master; Cornelia, S. T. Belt, master; 
Columbia, Wm. Barnes, master; Glasgow, Wm. P. Lamoth, 
master; Kate Kinney, J. P. McKinney, master; H. S. 
Turner, James A. Yore, master. These boats were owned by 
individuals and run under a joint arrangement and on regular 
schedule time. 

Its second president was Capt. Jno. B. Weaver, who tilled 
that position during the continuance of the organization. 
During the first years of its existence it was a good line of 
boats and judiciously managed. But the character of the 
navigation and the long periods of low water were such that 
the railroad competition soon made it apparent that the line 
could not be sustained, and the boats drifted off into other 
trades, and the line was abandoned. 

From that time forward the business that had heretofore 
been done by steamboats in that trade gradually found its way 
to the railroads, and has always been done by them since. 
And probably will always continue to be done by them, 
although Congressmen from that district, and some business 
men, persist in urging appropriations for the improvement of 
the Missouri River. But for all purposes of navigation it 
will prove a total loss, especially above Kansas City. 

Farms in the bottom lands may be saved from washing, 
and landings at the towns and cities may be preserved, but 
the meanderings of the river so increase the distance, added 
to the character of the navigation naturally, that no improve- 
ment the government will ever make will render it possible 
for water transportation to compete with rail in this river. 
And the sooner its friends in Congress, and out of Congress 
abandon their effort to improve the navigation of the Missouri 
and devote their energies to the improvement of the Mississippi, 
and other streams that it is practical to improve, they will the 
sooner realize the advantages of river improvements to the 
commerce of the valley than they can ever expect to by at- 
tempting to improve the Missouri. 

GREAT MAIL EXPRESS & PASSENGER ROUTE. 

The Pacific Railroad Packet Line, known as the Lightning 
Line, was established in the summer of 1856 under a contract 



420 Gould's history of rivek navigation. 

entered into with the Pacific Railroad Company by Captain 
Barton Able and Louis A. Weiton, by which tlie hitter parties 
placed in connection with that road three steanfiers: The 
Cataract, F. X. Anbry and Australia, forming a tri-weekly line 
between St. Louis, Jefferson City, Kansas City and Western. ' 

"On the opening of navigation in 1857 this line was in- 
creased to a daily, except Sundays, and met with a success 
and patronage truly encouraging. The inducement offered by 
this route appeals directly to the traveler, saving under the 
most favorable circumstances which can surround steamers on 
their trips from St. Louis, some thirty hours' time, beside the 
many delays and annoyances incident upon a lengthened steam- 
boat trip. 

In the winter of 1856 and 1857 a very favorable charter 
was granted by the Legislature of Missouri, to this company. 
Incorporating it under the name of "Pacific Railroad Packet 
Company," and the following summer Governor Brown, the 
present Postmaster-General caused a contract to be made 
with this company, by which the Western mails should be car- 
ried on their boats during the season of navigration and under 
the same contract forwarded by express in winter. 

The demand for transportation of government freight was 
so great up the Missouri destined for the far West, and the 
troops at Salt Lake, during the Mormon war, that a contract 
was made with the Pacific Railroad and this steamboat line, by 
the government, by which a large part of that business was 
secured to them, and they soon became known as the " Great 
Mail and Transportation Company of the West." 

The following elegant steamers composed the line in 1858: 
John H. Dickey, Dan Able, master; White Cloud, Jas. 
O'Neal, master ; Victoria, Ben V. Glime, master ; Polar Star, O. 
H. McMillin, master ; Wm. H. Russel, J. McKenney, master ; 
St. Mary, P. Devinney, master, and are unsurpassed for speed 
and accommodations, by any line on Western waters. Through 
tickets can be purchased in all the principal ticket offices in 
the East or North or in St. Louis." 

Of all the packet companies ever organized on Western 
waters I think this one was started on less capital, was boomed 
into public notice with more gas, had the shortest lease of 
life, went up with meteoric brilliancy and passed away into thin 
air leaving many of its victims poorer and probably wiser 
men, having learned, w^hen it was too late, that the only use 
railroads have for steamboats is to reach points until they 
get there, which is not usually long delayed, and which was 
the case with this packet company and the Pacific Railroad. 



MOUNTAIN TRADE. 421 



ST. JOE & OMAHA PACKET COMPANY. 



Upon the completion of the Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad 
to the latter city, in 1859, a line of boats called the St. Joe & 
Omaha Packet Company was established to run in connection 
with the road from St. Joe to Omaha, under the management 
of Captain Rufus Ford, a good practical boatman, and under 
whose direction it was understood a successful business was 
done for i^everal years for the benefit of the road who owned 
the boats or until the road was completed to Council Bluffs, 
or near there, when the boats were withdrawn and the business 
done by the road. In 1868 when that or some other connect- 
ing road was finished through to Sioux City, Capt. Joab Law- 
rence established a line of light draft boats to ply in connection 
with the road between that point and Fort Benton. This too 
was understood to be a successful enterprise and was contin- 
ued until the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Bismarck. 
At that period, 1869, another line was formed by Captains Col- 
son, Evens and others of Pittsburgh, Pa., and ran in connection 
with the road for several years with eminent success. 

MOUNTAIN BOATS AND TRADE. 

Capt. Wm. J. Kountz, of Pittsburgh, also had several 
boats in the "mountain trade" as it was called, at 
that time, and was a lively competitor for government 
transportation which furnished the basis for the trade be- 
tween Bismarck and all points above, without which no 
great inducement remained for boats to contend. Hence the 
parties that had the best " friends at court," or could make 
the lowest rates, finally succeeded in retiring most of the large 
number of boats that had been employed on the Upper Mis- 
souri. Although the extension of the Northern Pacific road 
gradually diminished the river transportation until at the pres- 
ent time it Assumes small proportions, as compared with what 
it was at an earlier date. 

The fabulous prices obtained for freight to points on the 
Upper Missouri before any railroads were built, and upon the 
discovery of gold in Montana, induced a large number of boats 
into what was known as the "mountain trade." The nom- 
inal rate of freight from St. Louis to Fort Benton in 1863-4 
was 12^ cents per pound, although that price was often shaded 
a little, as steamboat freights generally are. 

But the margin for profits was several years sufficient to in- 
troduce the building of many boats expressly for that trade. 



422 Gould's history or river navigation. 

Some of them were the best low water boats, or boats of the 
greatest capacity as freight boats, ever built on the Western 
waters, and as the navigation of the Missouri river differs 
in the upper part so widely from the lower part, but little 
risk, comparatively, is involved in running light stern-wheel 
boats. 

Hence every character of boat was introduced into the 
trade, and but few years elapsed before competition reduced 
the rate of freight from 12^ cents per lb. to one cent per 
pound. 

As soon as the railroad was finished to Bismarck, but little 
freight was shipped from St. Louis, and the trade was con- 
fined principally to points between Bismarck, the Yellowstone 
River and Fort Benton. 

FATHER DE SMET AND SHOOTING OF m'KENZIE. 

Previous to the discovery of gold in Montana, the American 
Fur Co. and its contemporaries and predecessors in the fur 
trade monopolized about all the traffic there was above Sioux 
City, commencing soon after the introduction of steam, la 
1819, with one boat per annum, adding another from time to 
time as their trade extended up the river. 

The arrival or departure from St. Louis of a " mountain 
boat " created about as much excitement and curiosity at that 
time as did that of a pirogue or Mackinaw boat loaded with 
skins and peltries at an earlier date. As the representative 
of that company, Mr. Chas. P. Chouteau in later years was 
the general manager of the transportation department and ac- 
companied the boats on their long voyages to and from the 
mountains. Capts. Jos. and John LaBarge were the lieuten- 
ants of the company, and without one or both of them on 
board, or old " Black Dave " as pilot, the mountain crew was 
scarcely complete; and with them, but little {^pprehensiou 
from hostile Indians or dangerous navigation was felt. While 
the Indians were at peace with each other, the steamboat's 
annual trip was looked forward to by them with pleasure and 
great anxiety, as it was their source of supplies, and of them 
Indians are always short. 

These annual trips for so many years made the Indians of 
the Missouri as familiar with the officers of the boat as with 
their own neighbors, and they often remained on the banks of 
the river for weeks waiting the arrival of tlie boat. The 
chiefs and head men were sure to be remembered by Mr. 
Chouteau or whoever is in charge of the expedition, and a 



REV. FATHER DE SMET AND HIS BLACK ROBE. 423 

oiand spread was always anticipated and realized, at the prin- 
cipal trading posts, which consisted of coffee and hardtack, 
and, through the influence of some valued presents of buffalo 
robes and choice skins, not unfrequently small Hasks of red-eye 
(whisky) might be seen walking off under the protection of 
an Indian blanket. 

This practice, however, was not countenanced by the Fur 
Co., as it was from the effect of whisky that their losses in 
trade with Indians often occurred at that early day, as it does 
to-day in civilized communities and by a christianized people. 

The Rev. Father DeSmet, for many years a missionary and 
general manager of Catholic missions among the Indians of the 
Northwest, was not unfrequently a passenger on these pioneer 
boats. 

The black gown which he always wore in the presence of 
Indians inspired in them great veneration, as the representa- 
tive of the Great Spirit. His amiable and suave manner al- 
ways assured them, as it did every one else, that no evil could 
befall them in his presence, and he was, when known to be 
near, a constant check upon their habits of dissipation, quar- 
rels and hostilities. 

No matter how tierce the feuds between different tribes, he 
went fearlessly from one to the other to allay any commotion 
or tight and was always respected. 

The writer saw this practically illustrated while at the mouth 
of Milk River, some 200 miles below Fort Benton, in 1864. 

At that time the Sioux Indians were at war with the United 
States and with many tribes of Indians. Their country bor- 
dered the Missouri River for many miles and navigation was 
not considered very safe. Boats were occasionally fired into 
when running close to shore, and when lying up at night al- 
ways kept a picket-guard, and the pilot was protected by 
shields of boiler-iron when under way. This was a low-water 
year and we were two months getting to the mouth of Milk 
River, where we were obliged to store our cargo. While lying 
there a tragic event occurred, through which, had it not been 
for the presence of Father DeSmet the steamer Nellie Rogers 
and proljably some of the crew would have been sacrificed, 
for the cruel and unprovoked murder of young McKenzie, the 
son of a prominent merchant of St. Louis, whom many St. 
Louisans will remember as a very estimable gentleman. He 
at onetime was an Indian trader on the Upper Missouri. 

He had married a squaw, Indian fashion, and raised a fam- 
ily of half-breeds, a part of which he took to the States and 
educated. This young man, then about 30 years old, had 



424 Gould's history of river navigation. 

returned to his tribe, " the Crows," married, and was living at 
Fort Peck, acting, perhaps, in the capacity of interpreter. He, 
with his wife and young child, together with a large number 
of Indians of both sexes and of all ages, had encamped on the 
bank opposite where the boat was discharging. They all had 
access to the boat and were constantly passing to and fro. 

But as the bar on the boat had been closed by Mr. Chouteau's 
order, who had the boat under charter, no excessive drinking 
was allowed. There had been on board as a passenger all the 
way from St. Louis a Mr. Clark, formerly from Philadelphia 
a quiet gentlemanly man of education, who for the previous 
10 or 12 years had been living among the Indians — prin- 
cipally at Benton. 

After the boat had been lying there several hours Mc- 
Kenzie came on board with others and stepped into the cabin, 
and just as he got abreast of the stove in the hall, Clark step- 
ped out of his state-room, which was one of the first rooms 
in the cabin, with pistol in hand, and without a word from 
either of them, instantly fired and McKenzie fell, shot through 
the heart. 

His wife was one of the first who rushed on board, with 
many of her kindred and friends, and the excitement soon 
became intense — on the part of the Indians, for the sudden 
death of a prominent member of their tribe; on the part of 
the passengers and crew for fear of summary vengeance from 
the Indians, who were entirely masters of the situation. The 
fires were out and, of course, no steam could be had to move 
the boat for some hours. Father DeSmet and his black gown 
seemed about all that stood between an outraged body of fight- 
ing Indians and the Nellie Rogers, her passengers and crew, 
until Clark could be disposed of. While he was fearless and 
indifferent, it was evident there was no safety as long as he 
remained on board. Ponies were secured from the traders at 
Fort Peck, 12 miles distant, but who had come to see " the 
steamboat." Clark with two or three others, who were anx- 
ious to get to Fort Benton, started with very little preparation, 
and very little delay and stood " not upon the order of their 
going." And until they were well out of the Crow country 
it was thought no grass would grow under their horses' feet. 

Before the Indians had gotten over their surprise and con- 
sternation, Clark, whom none of them knew personally, had 
gotten beyond the reach of their fastest horses, and through 
the influence of Father De Smet, it is probable they never pur- 
sued him. "Tom Dorris," a young man from St. Louis 
bound for the gold mines at Helena, then just beginning to 



A JOHN GILPIN RACE FOR LIFE. 425 

attract attention, was one of Clark's traveling companions dur- 
ing that John Gilpin race. Subsequently it was learned that 
no halt was made until Fort Benton was reached, and the dis- 
tance, 200 miles, covered inside of three days. 

As there was no law and but little justice in that country 
then, no investigation was ever made, and no cause ever as- 
signed for the sudden taking off of McKenzie. 

It was believed an old grudge existed that was to be settled 
in that way whenever the parties met. It was afterwards said 
by Clark that he was the author of several similar tragedies 
previous to the one at the mouth of Milk River ; although his 
appearance was anything but that of a murderer or an out- 
law. 

His subsequent history I have never heard. 

Father DeSmet, who was on his annual tour to the mission- 
ary station among the Indians of the Northwest, together 
with the passeugers who were bound for the gold mines of 
Montana, ultimately found their way to Fort Benton on foot 
or Indian ponies, and in wagons sent from the Fort, to trans- 
port the stores that were left on the bank, under the strong 
guard provided by the fur company. While the Nellie Rogers 
and her crew wended their slow return to St. Louis under all 
the embarrassments attendant upon a low water voyage, on 
that then but little known navigation. 

According to Mr. Chouteau's recollection it was by far the 
the lowest stage of watpr that had been experienced on that 
river since his connection with it. 

At that period and for several years subsequentthe greatest 
drawback in that navigation, was the lack of fuel for steam, 
and boats had to depend entirely upon drift wood, and young 
Cottonwood, growing sparsely on the banks of the river, in 
the narrow bottom lands, many times packing it a mile on the 
backs of the voyagers and half-breeds, who were generally 
shipped on all early boats for this purpose. 

The practice of cutting down small cottonwood trees by the 
Indians to allow their ponies to forage from in the winter fur- 
nished the best fuel then obtainable, and was always tirst se- 
lected, as it only needed sufficient trimming to get it on board, 
after which it was cut into suitable lengths for the furnace 
while the boat pursued her voyage. 

This foraging for fuel in the bottom lands had generally to 
be done in the daytime to avoid Indians in ambush. Hence 
most valuable time was consumed, as only in very low water 
could the "drift-pile" be depended upon for the necessary 
supply. In later years, when the settlement of Dakota and 



426 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Montana made it necessary for large numbers of boats to enter 
that trade, wood-choppers availed themselves of the law of 
" squatter sovereignty" and dropped on to every little patch 
of Cottonwood timber on the whole Upper Missouri as well as 
on to the "pine-knot region" in the neighborhood of Fort 
Benton. This so increased the facilities of navio-ation that 
some boats made two trips in a season from St. Louis to Fort 
Benton and return ; and it made it possible to run that large 
fleet of boats that was afterwards needed to accommodate the 
government in moving troops and munitions of war and for 
the transportation of miner's and settlers' supplies. 

While young cotton wood cut and put on the bank was sold 
for $5 to $10 per cord, it was the cheapest fuel that could be 
had and no ([uestions asked. 

Notwithstanding the rush of miners to the gold fields of 
Montana, which set in just at that time, calling into use a 
large number of steamboats, the efforts of the government, 
the influence of Father DeSmet and other missionaries, noth- 
ing could induce the Sioux to remain on their reservations and 
be peaceful. 

Sitting Bull and a few desperate young renegade braves 
were always on the warpath, committing all kinds of atrocities, 
inducing the restless and reckless of other tribes to join them 
in their brutal attacks upon settlers and all the defenseless far 
and near, until at length the government determined upon a 
more formidable movement to disperl?^ them. 

The following note explains itself: — 

MALCOLM Clarke's fate. 

" Findlay, O., March 24, 1889. 
" Heading in the Cincinnati Enquirer to-day an article 
taken from and credited to your paper pmporting to be 
an extract from Capt. E. W. Gould's forthcoming book, 
I would like Mr. Gould to know what became of Mal- 
colm Clarke who killed McKenzie. I went to Fort Ben- 
t6n in '62 and left in '65, and was well acquainted with 
Clarke. He was a man to be feared, but quite a gentleman 
when not angry. He once placed his hand on his revolver to 
draw on me, but changed his mind. He was married to a 
beautiful half-breed girl with whom he seemed to live quite 
pleasantly. She had a brother named Isadore, who lived most 
of the time with Clarke and hunted or traded for him. In 
1865 Clarke moved to Prickly Pear Creek and located a ranch 
just where Gillette's wagon road starts around Medicine Rock 



Clarke's death. 427 

Hill. For some reason Clarke became cruel and overbearing 
to his wife, and, after endnring it for a few months, she ap- 
pealed to her brother for protection. He and Clarke had an 
altercation about it, and Isadore shot and killed Clarke. This 
happened, I think, in 1866. I do not wish my name pub- 
lished, but would not object to Gould's knowing it." 

J. A. V. 
Thanks. 

CHAPTEK LIX. 

THE SECOND YELLOWSTONE EXPEDITION. 

IN June, 1819, the government started an exploring expedi- 
tion under the command of Major Long up the Missouri 
River to the mouth of the Yellowstone, a detailed account of 
which may be seen in another chapter of this work. 

In May, 1873, the government having been several years 
trying to reconcile the Sioux Indians to pacilic measures, and 
a more friendly intercourse without success, determined to 
try the virtue of stones, as grass did not seem to produce a 
lasting effect upon them. 

The Northern Pacific Railroad was in course of construction 
through the Sioux country, very much to the disgust of that 
tribe, and required the strong arm of the government to pro- 
tect the working forces. 

It was determined to build two forts in the valley of the 
Yellowstone, and station troops enough there to compel sub- 
mission and protect the railroad and the settlers. 

In order to do that, a large amount of building material, 
ordinance stores and general supplies Avere necessary. A 
large number of troops were ordered through by land from 
Fort Abraham Lincoln and other frontier forts. In order to 
ascertain whether the Yellowstone River could be made availa- 
ble for transportation by steamboats, the steamer "Key 
West," under command of Capt. Grant Marsh, was dispatched 
by order of Genl. Sheridan, commanding the Military Divis- 
ion of the Missouri, to ascertain the practicability of attempt- 
ing the navigation of that river. 

Having proceeded under escort of Col. Fosythe and a small 
military guard to within three miles ot the mouth of Powder 
river, they returned to Bismarck with a favorable report. 

During the following months of June and July steamers 
Key West, Far West and Peninah were employed by the Gov- 
ernment in transporting supplies from Bismarck to Glendine. 



428 Gould's history of river navigation. 

In 1875, the orovernment bout "Josephine," having been 
built expressly for this expedition, was dispatched from Bis- 
marck to ascertain how far the Yellowstone could be navigated 
during the spring rise, which usually continues from the mid- 
dle of May to July. 

They proceeded to " Pompey's Pillar," thirty miles above 
mouth of the Big Horn, which is estimated to be 500 miles 
from Bismarck. Above that point the current was so strong 
and the channel so divided they could go no further and re- 
turned. The river being at an ordinary stage they explored 
the Big Horn for twelve miles from the mouth and then re- 
turned to Bismarck. 

The following year, 1876, several boats were employed by 
the government in transporting supplies and munitions of war 
from Bismarck in connection with the military expedition. 

In 1872, the government advertised for bids foi- freight, 
troops, horses, etc., per 100 lbs. per 100 miles, to extend 
from April 20th to August 15th. 

A large number of competitors materialized and some fric- 
tion was the consequence. 

CONTRACTORS FOR GOVERNMENT FREIGHT. 

Capt. John B. Davis, S. B. Coulson, A. H. Wilder, Joseph 
Lightner, Wm. J. Kountz and some others were interested in 
these contracts, and a large number of boats were employed 
for the next two or three years in transportation of govern- 
ment and private freights. During those years there was an 
immigration to the Valley of the Yellowstone, and it was un- 
derstood the steamboats as a rule made a good deal of money. 
The defeat of General Custer's army in 1876, and the compe- 
tition of the Northern Pacific Railroad terminated open hos- 
tilities from the Indians, and the principal business of steam- 
boats. In 1880, the government made a small appropriation 
for the improvement of the channel of the river, and if it had 
been continued it could have been made a verv navigable 
stream for several hundred miles. 

It runs through a beautiful valley traversed in part by the 
Northern Pacific, and at the present time has a number ot 
flourishing towns on its banks. It is estimated to discharge 
a greater volume of water into the Missouri than the Missouri 
itself carries above the junction. To have continued to make 
appropriations to improve the navigation, after the railroad 
was completed, would have been as futile as it is to attempt to 
improve the navigation of the Missouri with a railroad on each 
side of it, and a bridge across it every fifty miles. 



GENERAL CUSTER AND THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 429 

Notwithstanding the attractive features of the Valley of 
the Yellowstone, and the value of its lands, its water-power 
and its parks, if the government estimates values as in- 
dividuals do, it is very evident this expedition cost too much, 
far above its value in blood, if not in treasure. 

The Northern Pacific Railroad seems to have been the only 
party deriving any direct benefit from it. 

Whether the government had better or not to have fur- 
nished them all the protection they needed to build that road, 
by a small armed force, admits of no argument. 

That the Sioux Indians were behaving badly and needed 
chastising there is no doubt. Nor that the battle of the Little 
Big Horn, although a most disastrous defeat to the govern- 
ment forces, practically ended the Sioux war and the career 
of Sitting Bull, although several battles occurred afterwards, 
will not be disputed. But that all, and much more, could 
have been secured through diplomacy and the lives of so 
many brave men, led by the intrepid Custer, been saved, there 
is but little doubt. 

The unfortunate partisan political complications connected 
with that terrible tragedy, and the brave officers whose lives 
were sacrificed, has probably done much to deprive their 
families of the sympathy of the public, and the officers of the 
honor they were justly entitled to. 

The charges that have so often been repeated that Custer's 
reckless impetuosity and lack of caution destroyed him and 
the troops under his immediate command is undoubtedly a 
misrepresentation, cruel and unjust. 

Thfrt he was impulsive, sanguine and brave none can doubt ; 
that he was frank, out-spoken and impolitic perhaps, will not 
be denied. But the record shows he was always ready and at 
the front when duty called. 

He was a genial companion and warm friend, much beloved 
by those under him. 

Promotion had not destroyed his high sense of duty towards 
those occupying subordinate positions. Nor did the attempt 
to prove him disloyal, to those higher in authority, intimi- 
date him. 

He had reason to believe there was irregularity in the office 
of the War Department, and he had the courage to say so, 
and although President Grant refused to recognize it at the 
time and dishonored Custer, subsequent developments proved 
General Custer was right in his suspicions. 

This defeat at the battle of the Little Big Horn, where he 
lost his life, was in no way attributable to his recklessness or 



430 Gould's history of river navigation. 

lack of judgment. The fatal mistake was in underestimating 
the number of warriors then in the Held. In this Generals 
Crook and Terry, Major Reno and others agreed. And even 
the War Department, concurred in the opinion that there was 
not more than eight or ten hundred hostiles off of their reser- 
vations, agreeable to the reports from the agencies. 

They also underestimated the prowess and the ability of 
Sitting Bull, as a war chief. No Indian of late years has de- 
veloped so much skill and bravery as a lighting chief as he 
has. General Custer had but little love for an Indian, and less 
confidence in his integrity, and none in his courage in a square 
stand-up fight. He was always on the alert when in the 
neighborhood of hostile Indians for fear they would "run 
away." 

CUSTER BEING LED INTO AMBUSH. 

Even at this time, when he was rapidly approaching their 
camp, he reported to lieno " that the village was only two 
miles ahead and that the Indians were mnning away.'' 

Little suspecting he was being led into ambush and to meet 
2,000 well armed warriors, under the command of one of the 
shrewdest and most desperate blood-thirsty savages of modern 
times. But such is the fate of war, and in less than an 
hour after the fight began, according to the best judgment of 
Major Reno and others in his command who were within sound 
of the firing, not one was left to tell the tale. 

The Indians scattered in all directions and before the sur- 
prise and consternation had subsided and the other commands 
had been collected the Indians had left the valley. 

A short time previous to the battle. General Custer had 
Written to his wife at Fort Lincoln to come up on the next 
boat, as he apprehended no danger, and she had been left 
there very much against her will. It was her wish and gen- 
erally her custom to accompany him wherever he went. The 
steamer that took the news of the defeat, the Far West, was 
to have taken Mrs. Custer and some other ladies up to join 
the expedition. In the expressive language of her journal, 
'*the light of twenty-six hearts went out at the fort on the 
receipt of the heartrending news." 

To Captain Joseph Todd, of St. Louis, whose experience in 
the navigation of the Upper Missouri and the Yellowstone is 
almost co-extensive with steam navigation, especially so on 
the latter stream, lam indebted for the foregoing information, 
and many other details not included. He being in command 
of one of the boats in the expedition was in position to know 
the facts and his account is corroborated by reports made at 
the time to the War Department. 



STEAMBOAT ACCIDENTS. 431 



CHAPTER LX. 



CONDENSED LIST OF CASUALTIES ON STEAMBOATS. 

IN DeBow's Review, of 1848, may be found one of the 
best histories extant of the many accidents and their 
causes that had occurred on Western waters up to that date, 
and while not absolutely correct in every particular, it is suffi- 
ciently so to be interesting and instructive. 

Whole number of boats upon which explosions occurred, 
233; passengers killed (enumerated in six cases), 140; 
officers killed (enumerated in 31 cases), 57; crew killed 
(enumerated in 25 cases), 103 ; whole number killed (enumer- 
ated in 164 cases), 1,805; whole number wounded (enumer- 
ated in 111 cases), 1,015; total amount of damages 
(enumerated in 75 cases), $925,650; average number of 
passengers killed in the enumerated cases, 23 ; average number 
of officers killed in the enumerated cases, 2 ; average number of 
crew killed in the enumerated cases, 4 ; average amount of 
damages, $13,302. The cause is stated in 98 cases, not 
stated in 125 cases, unknown in 10 cases; total, 233. Ex- 
cessive pressure of steam, gradually increased, was the cause 
of 16 ; the pressure of unduly heated metals was the cause of 
16; defective construction of boilers caused 33; carelesness 
or ignorance was the cause of 32; accidental rolling of the 
boat cause of 1. 

NATURE OF THE ACCIDENTS. 

Bursting boilers 101 

Collapsing flues 71 

Bursting steam pipes 9 

Bursting steam chests 1 

Bolt and boiler forced out 1 

Struck by lightning 1 

Boiler head blown out 4 

Breaking cylinder head 1 

Breaking Flange of steam pipe 2 

Bridge wall exploded 1 

Unknown 3 

Not stated 38 

Total 233 



432 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



DATES AND NUMBERS OF EXPLOSIONS. 



In 1816. 
" 1817. 
" 1819. 
" 1820. 
" 1821. 
" 1822. 
" 1825. 
" 1826. 
" 1827. 
" 1828. 
*' 1829. 
" 1830. 
<' 1831. 
<' 1832. 
<« 1833. 



3 


111 


1834 


4 


(( 


1835 


1 


i( 


1836 


1 


a 


1837 


1 


i( 


1838 


1 


it 


1839 


2 


<i 


1840 


3 


« 


1841 


2 


u 


1842 


1 


(1 


1843 


4 


K 


1844 


2 


(( 


1845 


2 


(< 


1846 


I 


(1 


1847 


5 


(( 


1848 



7 

10 

13 

13 

11 

3 

8 

7 

7 

9 

4 

11 

7 

12 

12 



TOTAL IN 233 CASES. 

Pecuniary loss $3,090,366 

Loss of life in 233 cases 2,563 

Wounded in 233 cases 2,092 

Total killed and wounded 4,660 

The Wesie7'7i Boatman, for 1848, makes the following 
estimate of the fatality of steamboats up to that period : — 

384 Worn out or abandoned 601 per cent. 

238 Snagged or ottierwise sunk 34^ per cent. 

68 Burnt ' 10 per cent. 

17 Lost by collision 2^ per cent . 

17 By explosions 2i per c ent . 

Average age of boats worn out or abandoned, five years, or 
nearly so ; average age of those sunk, burnt or otherwise 
lost, four years, or nearly four. 

There were built in the Pittsburgh District, 304 boats ; in 
the Cincinnati District, 221 ; Louisville, 103: Nashville, 19; 
other places, 37. Total, 684. 

NUMBER OF BOATS BUILT IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING YEARS. 



In 1811. 
«' 1812. 
<* 1813. 
" 1814. 
" 1816. 
" 1817. 
" 1818. 
" 1819. 
" 1820. 
" 1821. 
«' 1822. 
»' 1823. 
*« 1824. 



1 


In 


1825 







1826 


1 




1827 


2 




1828 


5 




1829 


8 




1830 


31 


'< 


1831 


34 




1832 


9 




1833 


7 




1834 


10 




1835 


14 






13 




T 



32 

60 

24 

35 

55 

43 

68 

80 

48 

59 

52 

Total 684 



ENUMERATION OF BOATS LOST. 433 

The followinof compilation shows the number of boats lost 
and the aggregation of capital: — 

From 1811 to 1820 3 

«* 1820 to 1830 37 

" 1830 to 1840 184 

" 1840 to 1850 270 

Boats whose dates of loss is unkuown 80 

Total 676 

Total original cost $7,113,940 

Depreciation in value while in service 3,665,890 

Final loss 3,681,292 

Subsequent, and not included in the foregoing list of losses, 
among the many that followed in rapid succession. In 
"Sharf 's history of St. Louis," to which I am indebted for 
many items of interest, are the following total losses — omit- 
ting the partial ones : 

Andrew Jackson, destroyed by fire while laying at Illinois- 
town, August 7, 1850. She was an old boat ; insured for $6,000. 

The Sultana was burned the 12th of June, 1851, laying at 
MuUanphy street, St. Louis. Loss $75,000, on boat and cargo. 

April 4, 1852, the Glenco blowed up at the landing 
directl}'^ after arriving from New Orleans, by which a large 
number of lives were lost. 

On the 18th of January, 1853, steamers New England, 
New Lucy and Brunette were burned laying at the St. 
Louis wharf. 

The steamer Bluff City was burned the 27th July, at the 
wharf in St. Louis. 

The Doctor Franklin and the Highland Mary were greatly 
damaged by the same fire. 

The Moutauk, Robert Cambell and Lunette were burned at 
the landing 13th of October, 1853. 

The Twin City, Prairie City and Parthenia were burned at 
the St. Louis wharf 7th of December, 1855. 

A loss of nearly $100,000 was caused by the burning of the 
St. Clair, Paul Anderson, James Stock well. Southerner 
and the Savanna, and the damage to Monongahela, Pennsyl- 
vania and Mattie Wayne. 

The steamer Australia was burned April 1, 1859, and the 
New Monongahela and Edenburgh, laying at Bloody Island 
on the 15th of May, same year. 

A loss of $200,000 was sustained by the burning of the 
H. D. Bacon, T. L. McGill, Estella, A. McDowell and the 
W. H. Russel, on the 27th of October, 1863. 

Steamers Imperial, valued at $60,000; Hiawatha, valued 
at the same ; Jesse K. Bell, valued at $20,000, and the Post 

28 



434 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Boy, valued at $35,000, were bured 13th of September, 1863. 

The Chancellor, Forest Queen and the Catahoula were 
burned on the 4th of October, 1863. 

The steamer Maria, having on board a part of the Third 
Iowa and Fourth Missouri Cavalry, was blown up at Caron- 
delet, in December, 1864, by which many lives were lost. 

The steamer Jennie Lewis and the ferryboat Illinois, No. 
2, were sunk in the ice at St.' Louis, November 19, 1864. 

The Carondelet and Marine Railway Docks, together with 
steamer Jennie Deans were totally destroyed by fire on 12th of 
May, 1866. 

Steamers Ida Handy (valued at $75,000), Bostona, and 
James Raymond, were burned on 2d of June, 1866. 

Steamer Magnolia, valued at $150,000, was burned at St. 
Louis on 13th June. On the 7th of April, 1866, steamer 
Fanny Ogden, Frank Bates, Nevada, Alex. Majors, and Effa 
Deans, all with some cargo on board, were burned, involving 
a loss of over $500,000. ' 

On 26th of February, 1866, the Leviathan, Luna, Petona, 
-and Dictator were burned at the wharf at St. Louis with an 
estimated loss of $750,000. On December 19, steamer Gray 
Eagle was sunk at St. Louis. 

LOST FROM breaking UP OF ICE. 

Breaking up of the ice gorge in the winter of 1865-6 
caused a loss of nearly a million dollars to owners and under- 
writers at St. Louis. 

This was the most disastrous break up that has ever occurred 
on Western waters. 

The following is the estimate with the names of the boats 
lost : — 

Value. 

New Admiral 8 60,000 

Sioux City 10,000 

Empire City 20,000 

Calypso (about) 30,000 

Hylander 20,000 

Geneva 28,000 

Metropolitan (about) 18,000 

Four Wharf Boats (about) 15,000 

Two Barges (about) 25,000 

ON THB SECOND BREAK OR MOVEMENT OF THE ICE ON FRIDAY, 12tH JANUARY, 

1866. 

Value. 

Belle Memphis $ 85,000 

John Trendiy ferryboat 50,000 

Prairie Rose 15,000 

India 16,000 

Warsaw 35,000 

Underwriter, No 8 20,000 

Omaha 12,000 



BOATS LOST AND PARTIALLY SO. 435 



SATURDAY, 14TH JANUARY. 

Nebraska 20,000 

City of Pekin 32,000 

Hattie May 30,000 

Diadem 22,000 

Viola Belle. 30,000 

Reserve 30,000 

Rosalie 45,000 

Five Rock boats (about) 18,000 

Memphis Wharf-boat 5,000 

Alton Wharf-boat 2,500 

Total $692,500 

In the above estimate there is no calculation for the damage 
to boats not entirely lost. This is variously estimated from 
$150,000 to $175,000. 

In 1860 there was lost and jmi'iiaUy lost or damaged on West- 
ern waters 299 steamboat. 

Totally destroyed, 120. 

For some years after the bridge was completed, but few 
serious casualties occurred, and it was thought the bridge piers 
would so protect the harbor that the breaking up of the ice 
in the river would not hence forward cause serious losses. 
But the winter of 1887-8 proved more disastrous to floating 
property than any winter since the great break up in 1866. 

All that remains for the protection of that harbor seems to 
be an appropriation from the government to build an ice har- 
bor for the protection of boats in winter. Several efforts 
have already been made in that direction and an inadequate 
amount has once been appropriated, but for some reason used 
for another purpose. 

The following is a list of steamboats lost and partially so, 
at or near St. Louis from 1862 to 1881, inclusive : — 

1867 — January 20, steamer Mexico, burned at St. Louis ; 
total loss. 

January 26, R. C. Wood, sunk opposite Carondelet. 
January 2^, E. H. Fairchild, sunk opposite Carondelet. 
February 6, Tom Storms, sunk near St. Louis. 
February 13, White Cloud, sunk at St. Louis ; total loss. 
June 13, Governor Sharkey, sunk at St. Louis; total loss. 
September 10, G. W. Graham, burned at St. Louis; total 
loss. 

September 10, Yellowstone, burned at St. Louis; total loss. 
September 27, Illinois exploded at St. Louis, and repaired. 

1868 — February 4, Annie White, sunk by ice at St. Louis; 
Clara Donolson burned at St. Louis. 



436 Gould's history of river navigation. 

February 22, Kate Putnam, sunk near St. Louis. Raised 
and repaired. 

February 29, Paragon, sunk near Cape Girardeau. 

March 2, M. S. Mespham, burned at St. Louis ; Fannie 
Scott, burned at St. Louis; Kate Kinney, partially burned. 

April 18, George D. Palmer, partially burned. 

December 18, George McPorter, sunk at St. Louis. 

1869— March 29, Carrie V. Kountz, Gerard B. Allen, 
Ben Johnston, Henry Adkins, Jennie Lewis and Fannie 
Scott, burned at St. Louis. Loss nearly half a million. 

October 28, Stonewall, burned on lower Mississippi. 
Large number of lives lost. 

1870 — January 17, Lady Gay, sunk near Chester ; valued at 
$50,000. Belonged at the time to St. Louis & New Orleans 
Packet Co. Capt. I. H. Jones, master. Insured foi $24,000. 

January 27, W. R. Arthur, from New Orleans to St. 
Louis, exploded her boilers about twenty miles above 
Memphis. Was totally destroyed by burning, and about 
sixty people lost their lives. 

1871 — March 8, Mollie Able was badly damaged by a 
cyclone while laying at East St. Louis. Several other boats 
were severely damaged by the same storm. 

1876 — December 13. The following boats were destroyed, 
and partially so, by the breaking of an ice gorge in St. Louis 
harbor : — 

Centennial, Jennie Baldwin, Bayard, Rock Island, Dav- 
enport, Alexander Mitchell, War Eagle, Andy Johnston. 
The Fannie Keener was sunk same year. Also South Shore 
and Southern Belle. 

1877 — September 19, steamer Grand Republic, laying in 
the harbor of St. Louis, burned to the water's edge. She 
was said to have cost $300,000, and was insured for $50,000, 
and just previous to the disaster had been extensively repaired 
at a cost of $25,000. The steamer Carondelet, laying along- 
side, was burned at the same time. 

1878 — March 8, steamer Colossal was burned to the 
water's edge laying in St Louis harbor. 

June 9, steamer Exchange, burned at St. Louis. 

1880 — March 27, steamer Daisy, sunk at South St Louis. 

1881 — March 13, steamer James Howard, burned at the 
wharf with cargo of sugar on board valued at $65,000. Boat 
valued at $75,000. 

The above list embraces some fifty boats lost in and near 
St. Louis in fourteen years, principally owned in that city. 

This list does not embrace all, nor does it embrace barges, 
canal-boats, nor flat-boats, of which many were destroyed. 



LOSSES BY EXPLOSIONS IN FIFTY YEARS. 



437 



There seems to be a singular fatality attending this kind of 
property in and around St. Louis. 

It can only be partially accounted for from the exposed 
condition of the harbor in the season of ice, and that must 
continue until the government provides an ice harbor. 

Steamboat explosions for 50 years, commencing in 1816 to 
1871 inclusive : — 



Year. 



1816 
1817 

1825 
1830 
1836 
1836 
1837 
1837 
1837 
1838 
1838 
1838 
1838 
1839 
1839 
1839 
1840 
1844 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1846 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1849 
1849 
1850 
1850 
1850 
1850 
1851 
1852 
1852 
1852 
1852 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1854 
1854 
1855 
1855 
1855 
1856 



Name of Boat. 



WasMngtou 

Constitution 

Teclie 

Helen McGregor 
Ben. Franklin . . . 

Rob Roy 

Chariton 

Dubuque 

Black Hawk 

Moselle 

Oronoco 

Gen'l Brown . . . . 

Augusta 

Geo. Collier 

Welliugtou 

Walker 

Persia 

Lucy Walker . . . . 

Filizabeth 

Wyoming 

Marquette 

H. W. Johnston.. 
Edward Bates. . ■ 

Concordia 

Virginia 

Cutter 

Louisiana 

St. Joseph. 

Anglo Norman.. . 
Kate Fleming. . . . 

Knoxville 

Oregon 

Pocahontas 

Thomas Stone . . . 

Glenco 

Saiuda 

Franklin 

Bee 

Kate Kinney 

Timore 

Reindeer 

Lexington 

Lancaster 

Heroine 

Metropolis 



Lives 
Lost. 



9 

30 
20 
60 
29 
17 

9 
21 
50 
85 
100 
55 

7 
26 
25 

9 
23 
25 

6 
13 
30 
74 
53 
28 
14 

6 

150 

13 

100 

9 
19 
18 

8 
40 
60 
27 
20 

3 
15 
19 
40 
30 

5 

3 
14 



Year. 



Name of Boat. 



1857 
1857 
1857 
1857 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1859 
1859 
1860 
1860 
1860 
1860 
1861 
1861 
18^ 
1862 
1862 
1862 
1862 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1864 
1865 
1865 
1865 
1865 
1866 
1866 
1866 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1870 
1870 
1870 
1870 
1870 
1871 
1871 
1871 
1871 
1871 



Forest Rose 

Kentucky 

Fannie Fern 

Cataract 

Buckeye Belle. . . 

Titonia 

Princess 

St. Nicholas 

Hiawatha 

John Calhoun 

Sam Gaty 

Ben Lewis 

H. T. Gilmore . . . 

Madonna 

Ben Shervod 

Pennsylvania 

Mouougahela 

Com'd Perry 

Advance 

lago 

OUie Sullivan 

Marion 

Ben Levi 

Sultana 

Nimi'od 

R. I. Lockwood. . 

W. R. Carter 

Gen'l Lytle 

Missouri 

Phantom 

Cumberland 

Harry Dean 

Eclipse 

Magnolia 

City of Memphis 

David White 

Silver Spray 

Maggie Hays . . . . 

Iberville 

Judge Wheeler . . 

W. R. Arthur 

Rob Roy 

Raven 

New State 



Lives 
Lost. 



12 
3 

20 

12 

8 

1 

70 

45 

2 

8 

2 

23 

2 

4 

80 

150 

4 

1 

3 

1 

3 

4 

5 

1,647 

5 

11 

18 

12 

7 

11 

8 

5 

22 

31 

11 

5 

36 

13 

7 

9 

60 
1 
7 
1 



438 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The above table was carefully revised by Capts. James Mc- 
Cord and S. L. Fisher, of St. Louis, in 1871, and as they 
were both practicable boatmen of large experience and ex- 
tensive observation, it is safe to assume it embraces about all 
the casualties during the first fifty years, arising from explo- 
sions of steam boilers. 

While the number is large, and the aggregate of lives lost is 

*^ ' OCT O 

startling, when the circumstances are considered it will seem 
less surprising. In another chapter of this work the causes 
for the failure of steam transportation to prove remunerative 
to owners is considerated, in which the losses from explosions 
of boilers is included. 

With the exception of the Sultana, they all seem to have 
occurred from natural causes, either from bad material, care- 
lessness, or ignorance on the part of engineers. 

The unprecedented loss of life on the Sultana arose from 
there being almost an unprecedented number of persons on 
board. They were soldiers returning from the enemy's 
country, and it was charged that explosives of some kind had 
been secreted in the coal or in some other way contributed to 
the terrible result, but it was not proven. 



EXPLOSION ON STEAMBOAT WASHINGTON. 439 



CHAPTER LXI. 

TEPvKIFIC EXPLOSION AND LOSS OF LIFE ON BOARD THE STEAM- 
BOAT WASHINGTON. 

THE following accouat of steamboat casualties are quoted 
from "Floyd's Steamboat Directory," an old work 
published in 185(5, which contained illustrations of all these 
explosions, etc., and many others which are omitted, but are 
of no less importance or interest to those individuals who may 
notice their absence. 

They simply illustrate the horrible results of such accidents 
that were once so common on our waters, and which are still 
occasionally occurring, although much less frequently than 
formerly, not alone from the fact that the number of boats is 
largely reduced, but the appliances for avoiding and over- 
comino; these accidents are much more effectual. 

The illustrations are also omitted, as of course they are 
purely the production of the imagination of the writer. 
While the description is sometimes over-wrought, it is gener- 
ally from the observation of some one present, and is often 
far more terrible and revolting than can be described. 

To those who have been compelled to witness such scenes, 
the sooner they are blotted from memory the l)etter. 

In a previous chapter in this work is an imperfect list of the 
principal casualties of this character, covering a period of fifty 
years of the earlier experience of steam navigation. 

This is deemed sufficient, with the quotations which follow, 
to secure the objects of the work, without attempting to chron- 
icle in detail even the names or the experience of other boats. 

*'This deplorable accident took place on the Ohio River on 
the yth day of June, 1816. The Washington was the largest 
and finest boat which had hitherto floated on any Western 
stream. Her commander, Capt. Shreve, was skilled and 
experienced in all the duties of his calling; her machinery 
was all presumed to be in the best possible order, and no 
human foresight could have anticipated the fatal event. The 
boat left Pittsburgh, on Monday, June 7, and on the af- 
ternoon of the following day came safely to anchor off Point 
Hamar, where she remained until Wednesday morning. The 
fires were now kindled, and other preparations made for con- 
tinuing the voyage down the Ohio, but a difficulty occurred in 



440 Gould's history of river navigation. 

getting the boat into a proper position to start the machinery. 
While laboring to effect this object — the boat having in the 
meantime been carried by the force of the current near the 
Virginia shore — it became necessary to throw out a kedge 
anchor at the stern. Soon after all hands were summoned 
aft to haul in the kedge, and while they were collected on the 
quarter for that purpose, by a singular and most unfortunate 
chance, the end of the cylinder nearest the stern was blown 
off, and a column of scalding water was thrown among 
the crowd, inflicting the most frigiitful injuries on nearly all 
of the boat's crew, and killing a number on the si)ot. The 
cry of consternation and anguish which then arose might have 
been heard for miles. The captain, male and several others 
were thrown overboard ; but all of these, with the exception 
of one man, were afterward rescued from the water, but 
were found to be more or less injured, either by the fragments 
of the cylinder or the scalding water. 

The inhabitants of the neighboring town, now called Har- 
nuir, were universally alarmed by the sound of the explosion, 
which appeared to shake the solid earth to a considerable dis- 
tance. A number of physicians and many other citizens 
crowded into the boat to ascertain the extent of the calamity, 
but no language can descril)e the scene of misery and torture 
which then presented itself to the view of the spectators. The 
deck was strewn with mangled and writhing human beings, 
utterinof screams and groans of intense sufterino-. Some, 
more fortunate than their companions, lay still in the embrace 
of death. Among the wounded, six or eight, under the influ- 
ence of their maddening torments, had torn off their clothes, 
to which the skin of their limbs or bodies adhered; the eyes 
of others had been put out, and their faces were changed to 
an undistinguishable mass of flesh by the scalding water. But 
the greatest sufferers, apparently, were those who had been 
internally injured by inhaling the scalding steam, the effect 
of which on the lungs is agonizing beyond all the powers of 
imagination to conceive. The whole scene was too horrible 
for description, and it made an impression on the minds of 
those who witnessed it which could never be obliterated. 

The cause of the explosion was a disarrangement of the 
safety valve, which had become immovable in consequence of 
the accidental slipping of the weight to the extremity of the 
lever. 

Mr. Williams, of Kentucky, while lying in the cabin of the 
Washington, in his last moments, offered one of the cabin- 



EXPLOSION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 441 

boys all his money if he would knock him on the head to put 
a speedy end to his misery. The boy who received this offer, 
and who rehites the incident, is now Captain Hiram Burch, of 
Marietta, Ohio. 

Joseph , one of the hands, was missing; he is sup- 

})Osed to have been blown overboard, and carried down by 
the current. Several of the wounded died a short time after- 
Avards in consequence of their injuries. At a meeting of the 
citizens of Marietta, a committee was appointed to provide 
for the sufferers, and to make arrangements for the burial of 
the dead. 

This first steamboat accident in the West produced a great 
excitement among the inhabitants of that region, and occas- 
ioned, for some time, a strong prejudice against steamboat 
travel, the people being oblivious of the fact, that when the 
water conveyances was confined to barges and keel-boats, there 
was more real danger and more actual loss of life than may 
be classed anions the incidents of steamboat navigation. 

"On the 4th of May, 1817, while the steamboat Constitu- 
tion was ascending the Mississippi River, and when she was 
off Point Coupee, the- boiler exploded, making the whole 
front part of the cabin a perfect wreck, and killing and 
wounding thirty persons, eleven of whom perished instantly. 
As soon as the terrific report of the explosion was heard on board, 
numbers of the excited passengers threw themselves into the 
rapid current, and many were drowned or wafted down the 
stream before assistance could reach them. The shrieks of 
the wounded and dying were reverberated from the distant 
shores, and many a ghastly and heart-sickening spectacle pre- 
sented itself on the deck of the ill-fated vessel. One man had 
been completely submerged in the boiling liquid which inun- 
dated the cabin, and in his removal to the deck, the skin had 
separated from the entire surface of his body. The unfortu- 
nate wretch was literally boiled alive, yet although his flesh 
parted from his bones, and his angonies were most intense, he 
survived and retained consciousness for several hours. An- 
other passenger was found lying aft of the wheel with an arm 
and a leg blown off, and as no surgical aid could be rendered 
him, death from loss of blood soon ended his sufi'erings. 

The Constitution, formerly called the Oliver Evans, was 
built at Pittsburgh only a short time before this fatal explos- 
ion. At that period she was one of the finest boats on the 
river." 



442 Gould's history of rivek navigation. 



SINKING OF THE STEAMER TENNESSEE. 

"About ten o'clock on :i dark nif^ht, in the midst of a tre- 
mendous snow storm, on the 8th of February, 1823, when the 
ste.amer Tennessee, under a full pressure of steam, was plough- 
in"; her way up the turbulent Mississippi River near Natchez, 
she struck a snao;, and immediately commenced filling with 
water. The Tennessee was crowded with passengers, and the 
confusion and excitement were great amons; them all. The 
deck passengers had retired to bed. Most of those in the 
cabin were spending a cheerful evening together, in the 
enjoyment of social intercourse. The shock was great, 
and called every one instantly to the deck. Some sup- 
posed the boat had run into the bank, and would bound off 
again without injury. But the fatal truth was soon known, 
and in the confusion many leaped overboard. Capt. Camp- 
bell gave orders instantly to stop the leak, but the pilot, who 
had Ijcen down to examine the damage, with difficulty escaped 
from the hold, in consequence of the water so rapidly rushing 
in. A hole as large as a common door was torn in the hulk, 
and the truth was soon told — the Tennessee was going down. 
The shrieks of the women were heartrending at this awful 
news. The night was dark, and the wind howling around iu 
its fury made the scene doubly terrible. Every one inquired 
of his neighbor what was to be done, anti every one was anx- 
ious to provide for his own safety. The yawl and long boat 
were lowered, and into it the passengers, nearly two hundred 
in number, crowded, till it was on the eve of sinking. Those 
in the boat shoved off, and with one oar could not reach the 
shore in time to return to assist those left behind. Some, 
finding there was no chance in the long bo.it, jumped into the 
river and swam ashore; others pulled oft' the cabin doors and 
floated on them ; some got among the fire wood, and were 
lost by slipping through and being covered by it ; some clung 
to parts of the boat, which floated oft" with them. Mr. Keiser 
got upon the carpenter's bench, and a Mr. A. Logan, who had 
fallen into the water and sunk nearly to the bottom, on com- 
ing up fortunately caught hold of the way-plank, which formed 
a raft, and on which he floated down stream. Mr. Keiser 
soon came up with him, and leaving the work bench joined 
him on his raft. They floated in company for about eight 
miles, when, seeing a light on shore, they called for aid, and 
were taken up by a young man named Gibson, who conveyed 
them to the house of Mr. Randolph, where they were kindly 



INCIDENTS ON BOARD. 443 

treated. One man swam with his hat and cloak on, until he 
reached the v/illows, when he deliberately relieved himself 
from the burden of those outside garments, leaving them on a 
tree till next morning, and swimming safely to shore. An- 
other passenger swam out with a small hiny in his mouth, con- 
taining $3,000 in gold, which proved of essential service to 
him ; for on getting off a plank, and throwing his arm over it, 
he found the weight of his specie, which he then carried in 
his hand, admirably calculated to preserve his equilibrium. 
One man was sick in his berth, and being told of his danger, 
observed that he was too weak to save himself from drown- 
ing, and appeared reluctant to get up; but on being re- 
minded that his father was oh board, and required his 
assistance, he sprang from his bed, and not only saved his 
own life, but was instrumental in saving others. A young 
married lady, when her husband was about recklessly to 
throw himself into the Mississippi, caught hold of him, and 
by her presence of mind took off some shutters and made a 
raft, upon which they both floated down the river, and were 
picked up by a skiff. 

The boat floated down the river a short distance and lodged 
near some willows, upon which many of the deck passengers 
clung until daylight, when they were relieved from their peril- 
ous situation. 

Scarcely any property was saved from the wreck ; a few 
trunks and other light things floated oft', and were picked up. 
Some were pilfered by a mean wretch living in the neighbor- 
hood, named Charles Goodwin, others were preserved and 
afterwards reclaimed by the owners. The survivors speak in 
the highest praise of Mrs. Blanton, formerly of Kentucky, 
who in the absence of her husband, Mr. William Blanton, 
made every exertion for the comfort of the sufferers. B}' this 
disaster there were no less than sixty lives lost; the names of 
many will never be known. 

This was one of the early disasters, and was the theme of 
conversation for months after the fatal calamity. Indeed, 
people, for a long time after this accident, were almost afraid 
to go on a steamboat ; but it was soon forgotten in the narra- 
tives of the more heart-rendering disasters that followed after^ 
in rapid succession." 

EXPLOSION AND BURNING OF THE STEAMBOAT TECHE ON THE 
MISSISSIPPI RIVER, MAY 5tH, 1825. 

" The steamboat Teche left Natchez on the evening of May 
4th, 1825, heavily laden with cotton, and carrying about 



444 Gould's history of river navigation. 

seventy passengers, many of whom came on board at the 
moment of departure and were unknown to each other. Her 
course was down the river, and she proceeded about ten miles, 
when the night became so excessively dark and hazy that her 
commander, Capt. Campbell, deemed it unsafe to proceed 
further, and concluded to come to anchor. At two o'clock on 
the following morning. May 5th, the anchor was weighed, and 
the steam having previously been i-aised, the boat had just 
begun to pursue her voyage, when the passengers, many of 
whom had been sleeping in their berths, were startled by a 
shock which seemed sufEcieut to separate every plank and 
timber in the vessel, accompanied by a report which sounded 
like a discharge of a whole bToadside of the heaviest artillery. 
Every light on board was immediately extinguished, either by 
the escape of steam or the concussion of the air. As the day 
had not yet dawned, an impenetrable darkness now hung over 
the scene of the disaster, the extent of which could only be 
imagined by the affrighted and horrified crowd collected on 
the deck; but at that moment an appalling danger and still 
more dreadful uncertainty, was heard a cry that the boat was 
on fire I Then followed a scene of indescribable confusion ; the 
passengers in the very insanity oi' terror, were rushing hither 
and thither, through the dense and ominous gloom, and many 
anticipated their doom in their erring endeavor to avoid it. 

The number of lives lost by this accident could never be 
ascertained. Several persons were instantly killed by the ex- 
plosion, and others were so badly injured by scalding, or 
otherwise, that they died soon afterwards. It is thought that 
not less than twenty or thirty were drowned." 

explosion of the steamboat grampus, on the MISSISSIPPI, 

AUGUST 12, 1828. 

The Grampus was engaged in towing three brigs and a 
sloop up to New Orleans, and was about nine miles from that 
city, when the explosion took place. This accident was one 
of the most remarkable in the whole catalogue of steamboat 
disasters, on account of the extensive wreck which was made of 
the machinery. The boat had six boilers, all of which were 
blown to minute fragments. The same complete destruction 
was made of the flues, and various other parts of the steam 
apparatus; and the boat itself was (as an eye-witness re- 
ports), " torn to pieces." 

The Captain (Morrison) and Mr. Wederstrand, a passenger, 
were sitting by the wheel at the time of the explosion ; both 
were blown to a part of the forward deck fifty feet distant. 



CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION. 445 

where they were afterwards found, very much bruised, among 
a mass of ruins. The pilot at the wheel was precipitated into 
the water and drowned. Another pilot, who was walking the 
deck off of the wheel, had a leg broken, and received other in- 
juries, which caused his death. The brig in tow on the lar- 
board side of the Grampus had both topmasts cut away by 
the fragments of the machinery, and her standing rigging was 
much damaged. A piece of the pipe fell across this brig's 
tiller, carried it away, and slightly injured the man at the 
helm. The brig on the other side of the steamer had her bot- 
tom perforated by a piece of the boiler. The other vessels, 
being astern, escaped without any damage. 

The cause of this accident requires particular notice. It 
appears, from a statement of a passenger, that the chief engi- 
neer had " turned in," leaving his assistant in charge of the 
engine. This assistant, as it is supposed, went to sleep at his 
post, after partially shutting oif the water. The consequence 
was a deficiency of water in the boilers ; and the assistant en- 
gineer, on waking, when he discovered that the boilers were 
nearly exhausted, ignorantly, or imprudently, put the force 
pumps in operation to furnish a supply. At this time the iron 
must have acquired a white heat, and the contact of the wa- 
ter produced such an excess of steam, that the explosion nat- 
urally followed. 

Nine were killed on the spot, or died soon afterwards, in 
consequence of their injuries. Four others were wounded. 

EXPLOSION OF THE HELEN m'GREGOR, AT MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, 
FEBRUARY 24, 1830. • 

The steamboat Helen McGregor, Capt. Tyson, on her way 
from New Orleans to Louisville, stopped at Memphis, on 
Wednesday morning, February 24, 1830. She had been lying 
at the wharf about thirty minutes, when one or more of her 
boilers exploded, with the usual destructive and melancholy 
effects. The loss of life by this accident was at that time 
unprecedented in the records of steam navigation. In the 
bustle incident to the landing and receiving of passengers, a 
part of the deck near the boilers was crowded with people, 
all of whom were either. killed instantaneously or more or less 
injured, No person in the cabin was hurt. The number of 
those who perished at the moment of the explosion is variously 
estimated at from thirty to sixty. As many of them were 
were strangers whose homes were far distant, and whose bodies 
were never recovered from the water, into which they were 



446 Gould's history of river navigation. 

projected, it is very plain that an accurate account of the vic- 
tims is not to be expected. 

explosion of the steamboat rob ROY ON THE MISSISSIPPI 

JUNE 9, 1836, 

"The Rob Roy was on her route from New Orleans to 
Louisville, and was under way at 8 o'clock p. m. June 9, 1836, 
near the town of Columi)ia, Arkansas, when the fatal catas- 
trophe we are about to record took place. The engine was 
stopped for the purpose of oiling some part of the machinery; 
and although this necessary operation did not occupy more 
than two minutes, the accumulation of steam was sufficient to 
cause an explosion. As soon as the accident occurred, prep- 
arations were made to run the boat ashore, which was hap- 
pily reached within a few minutes. By this judicious measure 
many lives were undoubtedly saved. None were lost by 
drowning, and the only victims and sufferers were those who 
were killed or wounded at the moment of the explosion." 

TERRIFIC EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMBOAT BEN FRANKLIN, AT 
MOBILE, ALABAMA, MARCH 13, 1836. 

The steamboat Ben Franklin, on the day of this awful oc- 
currence, was backing out from her wharf at Mobile, in order 
to make her regular trip to Montgomery. Scarcely had she 
disengaged herself from the wharf when the explosion took 
place, producing a concussion which seemed to sliake the 
whole city to its foundations. The entire population of Mobile, 
alarmed by the terrific detonation was drawn to the spot to 
witness a spectacle which must have harrowed every soul with 
astonishment and horror. This fine boat, which had on that 
very morning floated so gallantly on the bosom of the lake, 
was now a shattered wreck, while numbers of her passengers 
and crew were lying on the decks, either motionless and 
mutilated corpses, or agonized sufferers panting and struggling 
in the grasp of death. Many others had been hurled over- 
board at the moment of the explosion, and such were the 
number of drowning people who called for assistance, that the 
crowd of sympathizing spectators were distracted and irreso- 
lute, not knowing where or how to begin the work of rescue. 
Many — how many, it is impossible to sa}^ — perished in the 
turbid waters before any human succor could reach them. 

Apart from the loss of life, which at that time was unex- 
ampled, the destruction produced by this accident was very 
extensive. The boiler-deck, the boilers, the chimneys, and 



LACK OF AVATER IN THE BOILERS. 447 

other parts of the machinery, besides much of the lading, were 
blown overboard and scattered into fragments over the wharf 
and the surface of the river. Mr. Isaac Williams, a passenger, 
was blown at least one hundred and fifty yards from the 
boat. 

The cause of this accident is believed to have been a de- 
ficiency of water in the boiler. The boat was injured to that 
degree that repairs were out of the question, and she was never 
afterwards brought into service." 

EXPLOSION OF THE DUBUQUE, AUGUST 15, 1837. 

"This distressing accident, by which sixteen persons were 
instantly killed, and several others were badly scalded, took 
place on the Mississippi, while the boat was on her voyage 
from St. Louis to Galena. The locality of the dreadful event 
was off Muscatine Bar, eight miles below Bloomington. The 
Dubuque was running under a moderate pressure of steam at 
the time, when the flue of the larboard boiler, probably on ac- 
count of some defect in the material or workmanship, col- 
lapsed, throwing a torrent of scalding water over the deck. 
The pilot immediately steered for the shore and effected a 
landing. 

When the consternation and dismay occasioned by the ex- 
plosion had in some measure subsided. Captain Smoker, the 
commander of the Dubuque, and such of his crew as were not 
disabled by this accident, made their way with considerable 
difficulty through the ruins to the afterpart of the boiler-deck, 
when it was found that the whole of the freight and every 
other article which had been there deposited, was cleared off 
and wafted far away into the water. The unfortunate deck 
passengers, together with the cooks and several of the crew, 
were severely scalded either by the hot water or the escaped 
steam. Many of these wretched people in their agony fled to 
the shore uttering the most appalling shrieks, and tearing off 
their clothes, which in some cases brought away the skin and 
even the flesh with them. Humanity shudders at the recollec- 
tion of the scene. It was several hours before any of them 
died ; nor could medical relief be obtained until a boat, which 
had been dispatched from Bloomington, returned with several 
physicians who resided at that place. At 10 o'clock p. m., 
eight hours after the explosion, the steamboat Adventure, 
Captain Van Houten, came up with the wreck and took it in 
tow as far as Bloomington." 



448 Gould's history of river navigation. 



EXPLOSION AND BURNING OF THE LIONESS, ON RED RIVER, MAY 

19, 1833. 

*' The destruction of the Lioness was caused by the explo- 
sion of several barrels of gunpowder which were stowed 
among other freight in the hold. The accident, therefore, can- 
not be attributed to any defect in the steam apparatus or to 
any mismanagement thereof. The catastrophe toolc place at 
an early hour on a calm and beautiful Sabbath morning in 
spring. Many of the passengers had not left their berths. 
Among those that had embarked in the Lioness at New Or- 
leans were the Hon. Josiah S.Johnson, of the United States 
Senate, and several other distinguished citizens of Louisiana. 
The boat was commanded by Captain William L. Crockerell ; 
her place of destination was Nachitoches, on Red River. She 
had accomplished a considerable part of the voyage and reached 
the mouth of a small stream called Ragolet Bon Dieu, when, 
on the morning referred to above, the mate and several of the 
crew were arranging some part of the cargo in the hold, and 
as the place was dark they found it necessary to use a lighted 
candle. It is conjectured that a spark from the candle in some 
way found access to one of the kegs of powder; but as every 
person who had been at work in the hold was killed by the 
explosion, the mode in which the powder became ignited could 
never be ascertained. It is reported that some articles of a 
very combustible nature, such as crates containing a quantity 
of dry straw and several casks of oil, were stowed in danger- 
ous proximity to the powder. It was stated by some of the 
passengers that three distinct explosions were heard. The 
fore-cabin, the boiler-deck and the hold immediately under 
them, were literally torn to pieces and the fragments were 
scattered over the surrounding waters to a surprisins: distance. 
A part of the hurricane deck and a portion or the ladies' cabin 
were likewise detached, and this proved to be a favorable cir- 
cumstance, as the hull almost immediately sunk and in all like- 
lihood every female on board and many other persons would 
have been drowned had they not been sustained on the de- 
tached pieces of the wreck just spoken of. As it was, all the 
women were saved and the loss of life, though terrible enough, 
indeed, was less than might have been expected in view of all 
the circumstiinces of the disaster. The hull of the vessel was 
on fire almost from stem to stern at the time she went down. 
All of the crew and passengers who survived saved themselves 
l)y swimming or were floated to the shore on fragments of the 
wreck." 



THE WHOLE COUNTRY IN MOURNING. 449 



EXPLOSION OF THE BLACK HAWK, DECEMBER 27, 1837. 

" This awful calamity, which hurried more than fifty human 
beings into eternity, occurred on a cold, wintry night, while 
the Black Hawk was about to ascend the lied River, on her 
passage from Natchez to Natchitoches. The boat had a full 
load of passengers and freight, including ninety thousand dol- 
lars in specie belonging to the United States Government. 
She had just reached the mouth of the Red River, the boiler 
exploded, blowing off all of the upper works forward of the 
wheels. The pilot and engineer were instantly killed. 

The number of passengers on board is stated to have been 
about one hundred, nearly half of whom were women and 
children. No estimate of the number killed was ever pub- 
lished, but it appears from the best accounts we have that a 
majority of the passengers and crew perished. A large portion 
of the passengers on Western steamboats are persons from 
distant parts of the country, or emigrants, perhaps, from the 
old world, whose journeyings are unknown to their friends, 
and whose fate often excites inquiry. When such persons are 
the victims of a steamboat calamity, their names and frequent- 
ly their numbers, are beyond all powers of research. So it 
appears to have been in the case now under consideration. 
Instead of a list of the slain, we are furnished only with a 
catalogue of the survivors, and these, alas, appear to have 
been merely a forlorn remnant." 

EXPLOSION OF THE MOSELLE, NEAR CINCINNATI, OHIO, APRIL 25, 

1838. 

" We are now to relate the particulars of an event which 
seemed for a time to shroud the whole country in mourning; 
an event which is still believed to be almost without parallel 
in the annals of steamboat calamities. The Moselle was re- 
garded as the very paragon of Western steamboats; she was 
perfect in form and construction, elegant and superb in all her 
equipments, and enjoyed a reputation for speed which ad- 
mitted of no rivalship. Her commander and proprietor, Capt. 
Perrin, was a young gentleman of great ambition and enter- 
prise, who prided himself, above all things, in that celebrity 
which his boat had acquired, and who resolved to maintain, at 
all hazards, the character of the Moselle as " the swiftest 
steamboat in America." This character she unquestionably 
deserved; for her '* quick trips " were without competition at 
that time, and are rarely equaled at the present day. To 

29 



450 Gould's history of river navigation. 

give two examples — her first voyage from Portsmouth to 
Cincinnati, a distance of one hundred and ten miles, was made 
in seven hours and fifty-five minutes ; and her last trip, from 
St. Louis to Cincinnati, seven hundred and fifty miles, was 
performed in two days and sixteen hours; the quickest trip, 
by several hours, that had ever been made between the two 
places. 

On the afternoon of April 25, 1838, between four and five 
o'clock, the Moselle left the landing at Cincinnati, bound for 
St. Louis with an unusually large number of passengers, sup- 
posed to be not less than two hundred and eighty ; or accord- 
ing to some accounts, three hundred. It was a pleasant 
afternoon, and all on board probably anticipated a delightful 
voyage. Passengers continued to crowd in up to the moment 
of departure, for the superior accommodations of this steamer, 
and her renown as the finest and swiftest boat on the river, 
were great attractions for the traveling public, with whom 
safety is too often but a secondary consideration. The Mo- 
selle proceeded about a mile up the river to take on board 
some German immigrants. At this time, it was observed by an 
experienced engineer on board that the steam had been raised 
to an unusual height; and Avhen the boat stopped for the pur- 
pose just mentioned, it was reported that one man, who was 
apprehensive of danger, went ashore, after protesting against 
the injudicious management of the steam apparatus. \Yhen 
the object for which the IMoselle had landed was accomplished, 
the bow of the boat was shoved from the shore, and at that 
instant the explosion took place. The whole of the vessel 
forward of the wheels was blown to splinters ; every timber 
(as an eye witness declares), " appeared to be twisted, as trees 
sometimes are when struck by lightning." As soon as the 
accident occurred, the boat floated down the stream for about 
one hundred yards, where she sunk, leaving the upper part 
of the cabin out of the water, and the baggage, together with 
strugo'ling human beings, floating on the surface of the river. 

Itwas remarkable that the force of the explosion was un- 
precedented in the history of steam ; its effect was like that 
of a mine of gunpowder. All the boilers, four in number, 
burst simultaneously; the deck was blown into the air, and 
the human beings who crowded it were doomed to instant de- 
struction. Fragments of the boiler and of human bodies were 
thrown both to the Kentucky and Ohio shores, although the 
distance to the former was a quarter of a mile. Captain Per- 
rin, master of the Moselle, at the time of the accident was 
standinsf on the deck above the boiler, in conversation with 



SIXTY OR SEVENTY PASSENGERS SEEN IN THE RIVER. "451 

another person. He was thrown to a consi(]er!il)le height on 
the steep einl)iuikment of the river and killed, wliile his com- 
panion was merely prostrated on the deck, and escaped with- 
out injury. Another person was blown to the distance of a 
hundred yards, with such force according to the report of a 
reliable witness, that a part of his body penetrated the roof of 
a house. Some of the passenj^ers who were in the after part 
of the boat, and who were uninjured by th<; explosion, jumped 
overboard. An eye-witness says that he saw sixty or seventy 
in the water at one time, of whom not a dozen reached the shore. 

It happened, unfortunately, that the larj^er number of 
passeni^ers were collected oil the upper deck, to which the 
balmy air and delicious weather seemed to invite them in order 
to exi)ose them to more certain destruction. It was under- 
stood, too, that the captain of the ill-fated steamer had ex- 
pressed his determination to outstrip an opposition boat which 
had just started ; the people on shore were cheering the 
Moselle in anticipation of her success in the race, and tlie pas- 
sengers and crew on the upper deck responded to these 
acclamations, which were soon changed to sounds of mourning 
and distress. 

Intelligence of the awful calamity spread rapidly through 
the city ; thousands rushed to the spot, and the most benevo- 
lent aid was promptly extended to the suffers, or, as wo 
should rather say, to such as were within reach of human 
assistance, for the majority had perished. A gentleman who 
was among those who hastened to the wreck, declares that he 
witnessed a scene so sad and distressing that no lan<jrua<;c 
can depict it with fidelity. On the shore lay twenty or thirty 
mangled and bleeding corpses, while many persons were en- 
gaged in dragging others of the dead or wounded from the 
wreck of water. But, says the same witness, the survivors 
presented the most touching objects of distress, as their mental 
anguish seemed more insupportable than the most intense 
bodily suffering. Death had torn asunder the most tender 
ties; but the rupture had been so sudden and violent that none 
knew certainly who had been taken or who had been spared. 
Fathers were distractedly inquiring for children, children for 
parents, husbands and wives for each other. One man had 
saved a son, but lost a wife and five children. A father, 
partially demented by grief, lay with a wounded child on one 
side, his dead daughter on the other, and his expiring wife 
at his feet. One gentleman sought his wife and children, who 
were as eagerly seeking him in the same crowd. They met 
and were re-united. 



452 Gould's history of river navigation. 

A female deck passenger who had been saved seemed incon- 
sohible for the loss of her relatives. Her constant exclama- 
tions were "Oh, my father! my mother ! my sisters!" A 
little boy about five years old, whose head was much bruised, 
appeared to be regardless of his wounds, and cried continually 
for a lost father ; while another lad, a little older, was weeping 
for his whole family. 

One venerable looking man wept for the loss of wife and 
five children. Another was bereft of his whole family, con- 
sisting of nine persons. A touching display of maternal 
affection was evinced by a lady, who, on being brought to the 
shore, clasped her hands and exclaimed "Thank God, I am 
safe," but instantly recollecting herself, she ejaculated in a 
voice of piercing agony, " where is my child?" The infant, 
which had also been saved, was brought to her and she fainted 
at sight of it. 

Many of the passengers who entered the boat at Cincinnati 
had not registered their names, but the lowest estimated 
number of persons on board was two hundred and eighty ; of 
these, eighty-one were known to be killed, fifty-five were 
missing, and thirteen badly wounded. 

The Moselle was built at Cincinnati and she reflected great 
credit on the mechanical genius of that city, as she was truly 
a superior boat, and, under more favorable auspices, might 
have been the pride of the waters for many years. She was 
quite a new boat, having been begun on the 1st of December, 
1838, and finished on the 31st of March, less than one month 
before the time of her destruction. 

BURNING OF THE BEN SHERROD, MAY 8, 1837. 

On the 8th of May, 1837, the large Louisville and New Or- 
leans packet, the Ben Sherrod, caught fire on her upward trip, 
while she was engaged in an exciting race with the steamer 
Prairie. It was one o'clock at night, and the boat was about 
fourteen miles above Fort Adams, ploughing her way up the 
Mississippi with great velocity. The Prairie was just ahead 
of her, in sight, and the crew of the Ben Sherrod were deter- 
mined, if possible, to go by her. The firemen were shoving 
in the pine knots, and sprinkling rosin over the coal, and do- 
ing their best to raise more steam. They had a barrel of 
whisky before them, from which they drank often and freely 
until they were beastly drunk. The boilers became so hot 
that they set fire to the sixty cords of wood on board, and the 
Ben Sherrod was soon completely enveloped in flames. The 



MANY THRILLING INCIDENTS. 453 

passengers, three hundred in number, were sound asleep, not 
thinking of the awful doom that awaited them. When the 
deck hands discovered the fire, they basely left their posts and 
ran for the yawl, without giving the alarm to the passengers. 
Capt. Castleman attempted for a time to allay the excitement 
and confusion by telling them that the fire was extinguished. 
Twice he forbade the lowering of the yawl which was at- 
tempted. The shrieks of nearly three hundred and fifty per- 
sons now on board, rose wild and dreadful, which might have 
been heard at a distance of several miles. The cry was " To 
the shore! to the shore!" and the boat made for the star- 
board shore, but did not gain it, as the wheel ropes soon 
burnt. The steam was not let off and the boat kept on up the 
river. The scene of horror now beggared all description. 
The yawl, which had been filled with the crew, had sunk, 
drowning nearly all who were in it ; and the passengers had 
no other alternative than to jump overboard, without taking 
time even to dress. There were ten ladies who all went over- 
board without uttering a single scream ; some drowned 
instantly, and others clung to planks ; two of the number 
were all that were saved. Several passengers were burnt 
alive. One man by the name of Ray, from Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, jumped overboard, and hung to a rope at the bow of 
the boat, until rescued by the yawl of the steamer Columbus, 
which arrived at the scene half an hour after the boat took 
fire. Mr. Ray's face and arms were much burnt while cling- 
ing to the boat. He lost twenty thousand dollars in specie. 
The steamer Alton arrived half an hour after the Columbus, 
but from the carelessness or indiscretion of those on her, was 
the means of drowning many persons who were floating on 
the water. She came down under full headway among the 
exhausted sufferers, who were too weak to make any further 
exertion, and by the commotion occasioned by her wheels 
drowned a large number. A gentleman by the name of Ham- 
ilton, from Limestone county, Alabama, was floating on a 
barrel, and sustaining also a lady, when the Alton came up, 
washing them both under. The lady was drowned, but Mr. 
Hamilton came up and floated down the river fifteen miles, 
when he was rescued by the steamer Statesman. Mr. 
McDowell sustained himself some time against the current, so 
that he floated only two miles down the river, and then swam 
ashore. His wife, who was floating on a plank, was drowned 
by the steamer Alton. Mr. Rundell floated down the river 
ten miles, and was taken up by a flat-boat at the mouth of 
Buffalo creek ; he saved his money in his pantaloons' pocket. 



454 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Mr. McDowell lost his wife, son, and a lady named Miss 
Frances Few, who was under his protection; also a negro 
servant. Of those who escaped we have seen and conversed 
with James P. Wilkinson, Esq., Mr. Stanfield, of Richmond, 
Virginia, and Daniel Marshall, Esq., of Moscow, Indiana. 
The scene, as described by them, was truly heartrending; 
while some were confined to their berths and consumed by the 
flames, others plunged into the river to find watery graves. 
One lady, who attached herself to Mr. Marshall, had clung to 
him while they floated four or five miles, was at length 
drowned by the waves of the Alton, after imploring the boat's 
crew for assistance and mercy. Mr. Marshall was supported 
by a flour barrel. Only two ladies out of ten who were on 
board were saved ; one of these was Mrs. Csistleman, the ca[)- 
tain's wife; the other Mrs. Smith, of New Orleans. 

It was said by some of the passengers, that the captain of 
the Alton did not hear the cries of those who implored him 
for assistance as he passed, it being midnight ; but there can 
be no excuse for the monster who commanded the Prairie, for 
leaving a boat in flames without turning around and affording 
the snfl'erers relief. He reported her on fire at Natchez and 
Vicksburg. 

eight different reports. 

A man in a canoe near the scene of disaster refused to save 
any who were floating in the water, unless they promised to 
pay him handsomely for his services. So rapid were the 
flames that not even the register of the boat was saved ; hence 
it was imi)ossible to set a full list of the lost. One of the 
officers of the boat informed us, that out of seventy-eight pas- 
sengers not more than six were saved. This was one of the 
most serious calamities that ever occurred on the Mississippi 
River, there being at least one hundred and seventy families 
deprived by it of some dear and beloved member, and over 
two hundred souls being hurried by. it out of time into 
eternity, with scarce a moment's warning. During the burn- 
ing of the Ben Sherrod eight difterent explosions occurred; 
first, barrels ot whisky, brandy, etc. ; then the boilers blew up 
with a fearful explosion, and lastly, forty barrels of gunpowder 
exploded, which made a noise that was heard many miles dis- 
tant, scattering fragments of the wreck in all directions, and 
producing the grandest sight ever seen. Immediately after, 
the wreck sunk out of sight just above Fort Adams. A large 
quantity of specie, which was on its way to the Tennessee 
banks, was lost. One gentleman placed his pocket-book, con- 



ONE AMONG THE MOST FATAL ACCIDENTS. 455 

taining thirty-eight thousand dolhirs, under his pillow, and 
though he managed to escape he lost all his money. One 
scene was distressing in the extreme; a young and beautiful 
lady, whose name was Mary Ann Walker, on hearing the cry 
of fire, rushed out of the ladies' cabin in her loose night 
clothes in search of her husband, at the same time holding her 
infant to her bosom ; in her endeavors to get forward, her 
dress caught tire, and was torn from her back to save her 
life. After witnessing her husband fall into the flames in the 
forward part of the boat, and unable to reach him, she rushed 
with her child into the water, seized a plank, and was carried 
by the current within forty yards of the Columbus, but just 
as she- seized a rope thrown to her, both mother and child 
sank to rise no more. One young man, who had reached the 
hurricane deck in safety, hearing the cries of his sister, rushed 
back to the cabin, clasped her in his arms, and both were 
burnt to death. One of the clerks, one of the pilots, and the 
mate were burnt to death. All the chambermaids and women 
employed on the boat perished; only two negroes escaped out 
of thirty-five that were on the boat." 

BURNING OF THE BRANDYWINE, APRIL 9, 1832. 

" The steamboat Brandywine, Captain Hamilton, left New 
Orleans on the evening of April 3d, 1832. Her place of des- 
tination was Louisville, Kentucky. Her voyage was prosper- 
ous until the evening of the 9th, at seven o'clock. When the 
boat was about thirty miles above Memphis, she was discov- 
ered to be on fire. Among the lading it appears there was a 
number of carriage wheels wrapped in straw, as articles of 
that kind are usually put up for transportation on the river. 
These wheels were piled on the boiler deck near the oflScer's 
rooms and under the hurricane roof. It was supposed that 
the fire was communicated Irom the furnaces to the highly 
combustible envelope of these wheels ; the wind blew hard at 
the time and the sparks were ascending very rapidly through 
the apertures in the boiler-deck which were occupied by the 
chimneys, these not being closely fitted to the wood-work. It 
appears too, that the Brandywine was racing with the steam- 
boat Hudson at the time the fire broke out, and, that for the 
purpose of producing more intense heat and thus accelerating 
the boat's speed, a large quantity of rosin had been thrown 
into the furnaces. This fatal ruse was resorted to because 
the Brandywine had been compelled to stop and make some 
repairs, and the Hudson in the meantime had gained consider- 
able headway. Soon after the Brandywine had resumed her 



456 Gould's history of river navigation. 

course, the pilot who was steering discovered that the straw 
covering of the carriage wheels was on fire. Strenuous efforts 
were made to extinguish the flames and to throw the burning: 
articles overboard, but it was found that their removal allowed 
the Avind to have free access to the ignited mass, from which 
cause, as Captain Hamilton reports, the fire began to spread 
with almost incredible rapidity, and in less than five minutes 
from the time the alarm was first ^iven the whole boat was 
wrapped in a bright sheet of flame. 

The state of affairs on board may be imagined when it is 
understood that the Brandywine was crowded with passengers, 
and the only means of escape from a death of fiery torture 
which presented itself was the yawl, in which scarceh' a tenth 
part of the aff*righted people could be conveyed to the shore 
at a single trip. But even the faint hope of deliverance which 
this single mode of escape offered them, soon terminated in 
disappointment and despair. In the attempt to launch the 
boat it was upset and sunk.. The heat and smoke had now 
become so insupportable that not less than one hundred per- 
sons, made desperate by fear and suffering, threw themselves 
into the water. 

75 SAVED OUT OF 230 PASSENGERS. 

The number of passengers on board, according to some re- 
ports, was not less than two hundred and thirty ; of these only 
about seventy-five were saved ; the rest were either drowned 
or burned to death. Among those who perished were nine 
women and about an equal number of children. 

As soon as all hopes of extinguishing the flames was aban- 
doned, an attempt was made to run the boat on shore, but she 
struck on a sand-bar in nine feet of water, and about a quarter 
of a mile from the nearest bank of the river, where she re- 
mained immovable until she was burned to the water's edge. 
Those passengers and other persons belonging to the boat who 
had the good fortune to escape, saved themselves by swim- 
ming or floating on detached pieces of timber to the nearest 
island. It is reported to the honor of Captain Hamilton and 
his crew, that they remained on the burning boat to the last 
possible moment, exerting themselves to the utmost to save 
the lives which had been entrusted to their charge." 

explosion of the ORONOKO, APRIL 21, 1838. 

*' On Saturday morning, at six o'clock, April 21st, 1838, 
the steamboat Oronoko, Capt. John Crawford, came to anchor 



ONE HUNDRED DECK AND MANY CABIN PASSENGERS LOST. 457 

in the Mississippi, opposite Princeton, one hundred miles 
above Vicksburg, where she stopped for the purpose of send- 
ino; her yawl ashore to receive some passengers. In less than 
five minutes after the machinery ceased moving, a flue col- 
lapsed, spreading death and devastation throughout the boat. 
This accident occurred before the people on board were aroused 
from their slumbers. The deck passengers were lodged on 
the lower deck, abaft the engine, where, as is customary in 
Western steamboats, berths were provided for their accommo- 
dation. On this occasion the number of berths were insuffi- 
cient, as the boat was thronged with emigrants, and mat- 
tresses had been spread over the floor for the use of those 
who could not be lodged in the berths. This apartment be- 
tween decks was densely crowded with sleeping passengers, 
when the flue collapsed, as aforesaid, and the steam swept 
through the whole length of the boat with a force of a tornado, 
carrying everything before it. Many of the crew, whom duty 
had called on deck at that early hour, were blown overboard ; 
and as the scalding vapor penetrated every part and recess of 
the cabin and space between decks the slumbering population 
of the boat, with scarcely an individual exception, were either 
killed on the spot or injured in a manner more terrible than 
death itself. Some of these unfortunates were completely ex- 
coriated, some shockingly mangled and torn, while others 
were cast among masses of ruins, fragments of wood and iron, 
piled up in inextricable confusion. 

The deck was strewn with more than fifty helpless sufferers ; 
the river was all alive with those that had been hurled over- 
board by the force of the explosion, and those who, frantic 
with pain and terror, had cast themselves into the water. 
Some of those who had been scalded swam to the bank, and 
then in the wildest frenzy, occasioned by intolerable agony, 
leaped back into the water and were drowned. 

Those persons who occupied the cabin generally escaped 
before the steam reached that department ; but one gentle- 
man, Mr. Myers, of Wheeling, while making his way forward 
with his child in his arms, became alarmed at the scene of 
confusion and distress which presented itself, and rushing 
back to the cabin, which was by this time filled with steam, 
he and the child were both badly burned and died soon after- 
wards. 

Nearly one hundred deck passengers are supposed to have 
been sacrificed, the names of a great majority of whom were 
not known, and therefore are not inserted." 



458 Gould's history of river navigation, 



CHAPTER LXII. 

BURNING OF THE ERIE. 

THIS magnificent steamer, Capt. Titus, commander, was 
destroyed b}' fire, on Lake Erie, on tlie 16th day of 
August, 1841, by whicli calamity more than one hundred and 
seventy persons lost their lives. The following account is given 
of the origin of this disaster. Among the passengers on 
board were six painters, who were going to Erie, to paint the 
steamboat Madison. They had with them several large demi- 
johns filled with spirits of turpentine and varnish, which, 
known to Capt. Titus, they had placed on the boiler deck, 
directly over the boilers. One of the firemen who survived the 
accident, asserts that he discovered the dangerous position of 
these demijohns, a short time after the boat left the wharf, 
and removed them to a safer locality; but some person must 
have replaced them, without being aware of the inflammable 
nature of the contents. Immediately before the fire broke out 
a slight explosion was heard; the sound is said to have resem- 
bled that which is made by a single puff of a high-pressure steam 
engine. The supposition is that one of the demijohns bursted, 
in consequence of its exposure to the heat. The liquid poured 
out on the boiler deck instantly took fire, and within a few 
minutes all that part of the boat was in flames. The steamer 
had recently been painted and varnished, and owing to this 
circumstance, the whole of the wood-work was very soon in a 
blaze. There were two hundred persons on board the Erie, 
and of that number only twenty-seven were saved. 

collision of the steamboat MONMOUTH AND THE SHIP 

TREMONT. 

The steamer Monmouth left New Orleans, October 23d, 
1837, for Arkansas river, having been chartered by the United 
States Government to convey about seven hundred Indians, a 
portion of the emigrant Creek tribe, to the region which had 
been selected for their future abode. On the night of the 
30th, the Monmouth, on her upward trip, had reached that 
part of the Mississippi called Prophet Ishmd Bend, where she 
encountered the ship Tremont, which the steamer Warren was 
then towing down the river. Owing partly to the dense ob- 
scurity of the night, but much more to the mismanagement 
of the officers of the Monmouth, a collision took place between 



FOUR HUNDRED CREEK INDIANS DROWNED. 459 

that vessel and the Tremont, and such was the violence of the 
concussion, that the Monmouth instantly sunk. The unhappy 
red men, with their wives and children, were precipitated into 
the water ; and such was the confusion which prevailed at the 
time, such was the number of the drowning people, who prob- 
ably clung to each other in their struggles for life, that, not- 
withstanding that the Indians, men, women, and children, are 
generally expert swimmers, more than half of the unfortunate 
Creeks perished. The captains and crews of the steamers 
Warren and Yazoo, by dint of great exertion, succeeded in 
saving about three hundred of the poor Indians, the remainder, 
four hundred, had become accusing spirits before the tribunal 
of a just God, where they whose criminal negligence was the 
cause of this calamnity will certainly be held accountable. 

The cabin of the Monmouth parted from the hull, and 
drifted down the stream, when it broke into two parts, and 
emptied its living contents into the river. The stem of the 
ship came into contact with the side of the steamer, there- 
fore the former received but little dam;ige, while the latter 
was broken up, to that degree that the hull, as previously 
stated, almost immediately went to the bottom. The ship 
nearly lost her cut-water. 

The mishap, as we have hinted before, may be ascribed to 
the mismanagement of the officers of the Monmouth. This 
boat was running in a part of the river where, by the usages 
of the river and the rules adopted for the better regulation of 
steam navigation on the Mississippi, she had no right to go, 
and where, of course, the descending vessels did not expect to 
to meet with any boat coming in an opposite direction. The 
only persons attached to the Monmouth who lost their lives 
were the bar-keeper and fireman. 

It is not without some feeling of indignation that we 
mention the ciicumstance that the drowning of four hundred 
Indians, the largest number of human beinjjs ever sacrificed 
in a steamboat disaster, attracted but little attention (com- 
paratively speaking) in any pai-t of the country. Even the 
journalists and news collectors of that region, on the waters of 
which this horrible affair took place, appeared to have re- 
garded the event as of too little importance to deserve any 
particular detail ; and accordingly the best accounts we have 
of the matter merely state the outlines of the story, with 
scarcely a word of commiseration for the sufferers, or a single 
expression of rebuke for the heartless villains who wantonly 
exposed the lives of so many artless and confiding people to 
eminent peril or almost certain destruction. 



460 Gould's history of river navigation. 



SINKING OF THE SHEPHERDESS. 

On the 3d of January, 1844, the whole city f)f St. Louis 
was thrown into consternation and feverish excitement by the 
intelligence that the steamboat Shepherdess had been wrecked 
in Cahokia Bend, only three miles from the center of that 
city, and that many lives had been lost. Several boats were 
immediately dispatched to the scene of the reported disaster, 
and the worst rumors were unhappily verified. The par- 
ticulars of the sad event are given below : 

The Shepherdess, while ascending the Mississippi River on 
her way from Cincinnati to St. Louis, and at 11 o'clock, in a 
dark and stormy night, struck a snag just above the mouth of 
Cahokia Creek. The concussion was very severe, and it is be- 
lieved that several planks must have been torn from the bot- 
bom of the boat. According to the report of the officers, the 
number of passengers was between sixty and seventy. Most 
of those who were in the sjentlemen's cabin had retired to 
their berths ; four or five gentlemen in this cabin were sitting 
up by the stove, as it was cold winter weather. The ladies 
were generally undressed for the night. 

In less than two minutes after the boat struck, the water 
rose to the lower deck, where most of the passengers in that 
part of the boat were asleep. The captain, who was on duty, 
ran to the cabin occupied by the ladies, and assured them 
that there was no danger; he then returned to the forecastle, 
and is supposed to have been washed overboard, as nothing 
was seen or heard of him afterwards. As soon as the shock 
was felt on board, one of the pilots attempted to descend into 
the hold for the purpose of examining the leak, but he had 
scarcely entered when the rush of water drove him back. 

About this time shrieks and exclamations of aff'right and 
distress arose from the deck below, and several ladies, who 
hastened to the stern railing, reported that they saw a num- 
ber of persons struggling in the river. Certain it is that the 
water rushed in with tremendous rapidity, and before three 
minutes had elapsed it had risen to the floor of the upper 
cabin. Some of those persons who were on deck saved them- 
selves by getting into the yawl, which was cut loose and 
rowed to the shore with a broom. The water rose so rapidly 
that it soon became necessary for all to seek safety on the 
hurricane deck. This position was not attained without great 
difficulty, for the bow had sunk so deep in the water that the 
only access was via the stern. However, it is believed that all 
the people from the cabin succeeded in reaching the hurricane 



HUMANITY OF ROBERT BULLOCK. 461 

roof. In the meanwhile the boat was driftino; down the 
stream, and a few hundred yards below, she struck another 
snag which rose above the surface. This threw the steamer 
nearly on her beam ends on the larboard side. Drifting from 
this snag, she again lurched to starboard. At each lurch sev- 
eral persons were washed off; some of them reached the 
shore, but many were drowned. A short distance below, just 
above the first shot tower, the hull struck a bluff bank, which 
again careened the boat nearly on her side. Here the hull 
and cabin parted ; the former sunk and lodged on a bar above 
Carondelet, while the cabin floated down to the point of the 
bar below that place, where it lodged and became stationary. 

The steamer Henry Bry was lying at the shot tower above 
Carondelet, and as the cabin passed, the captain of that ves- 
sel being aroused by the cries of the passengers, took his 
yawl to their rescue. This little boat could only take off a 
few at a time, but by the strenuous exertions of the captain of 
the Bry many were saved. This humane gentleman almost 
sacrificed himself in the work of benevolence, and did not de- 
sist until he was covered with a mass of ice, and benumbed to 
that degree that further effort was impossible. About three 
o'clock the ferry-boat Icelander came down, and took off all 
who remained in the detached cabin. 

We have thus given a general history of this calamity, but 
some particular incidents deserve the reader's attention. A 
young man, Robert Bullock, of Maysville, Ky., was one of the 
passengers. With heroic devotion to the cause of humanity, 
he took no measures for his own safety, but directed all his 
efforts to the preservation of the women and children. When 
every other male person of mature age had deserted the cabin, 
he went from state-room to state-room, and wherever he 
heard a child cry took it out and passed it to the hurricane 
deck. In this way he saved a number of women and chil- 
dren. His last effort was to rescue Col. Wood's " Ohio Fat 
Girl," who happened to be on board. Her weight was four 
hundred and forty pounds, but with the assistance of several 
persons on the hurricane deck, he succeeded in raising her to 
that place of security. A short time after, the boat made a 
lurch, and Bullock was thrown into the water. He swam to 
the Illinois shore, having previously given his coat to a lady 
on the wreck who was suffering excessively from the cold. 
On reaching the land this young hero found two young ladies, 
who had been put ashore in a skiff and who were nearly 
frozen. They were about falling asleep, which would have 
been fatal in such circumstances, when Bullock, aroused them, 



462 Gould's history of river navigation. 

and with great exertions succeeded in getting them to Cahokia, 
where they met with the attention which their half frozen con- 
dition required. 

An English family, from the neighborhood of Manchester, 
ten in number, were all saved. Five of them succeeded in 
o-ettins: to the Illinois shore, four to the Missouri side of the 
river, and one was taken off the wreck by the ferry-boat. 
They were all re-united on this boat at Cahokia, at a moment 
when each party supposed the other to be dead. A spectator 
of that re-union avers that he never witnessed a more affect- 
ing scene. 

Mr. Muir, of Virginia, and his brother, were on board, with 
their mother and nine of their slaves, all of these persons 
were saved. Levi Craddock, from Davidson Co., Tenn., lost 
three children ; himself, his wife, and two children were saved. 
Mr. Green, of the same county and State, lost his wife and 
three children, and was left with two helpless infants, the 
youngest only three months old. Mr. Snell, formerly of 
Louisville, Ky., lost a son and daughter. Mr. Wright, of 
Mecklenburg Co., Va., and two of his children, were drowned. 
His wife, who survived, was in a state of distraction. The 
captain, A. Howell, of Covington, Ky., was undoubtedly lost. 
He was in the act of ringing the bell, when the boat made a 
lurch, by which the boilers, and part of the engine and the 
chimneys, were carried overboard, Capt. H. being over- 
whelmed among the ruins, and he sunk with them. He left a 
wife and eleven children, the eldest of whom, a son, was with 
him on the wreck. 

The bodies of two children who had perished with cold 
were brought up to St. Louis. Considering how many chil- 
dren were on board, it is surprising that more of these helpless 
beings were not lost. The Mayor of St. Louis, who personally 
assisted in relieving the sufferers, caused all who were saved 
alive to be taken to the Virginia hotel, where they were amply 
provided for. Forty persons are believed to have perished in 
this wreck. The Kev. Mr. Peck, of Illinois, who was on 
board at the time, makes the estimate much larger. One of 
the St. Louis papers averred that the number of persons lost 
was not less than seventy. 

Capt. Howell had bought the Shepherdess, and this was her 
first trip after she became his property. 

EXPLOSION OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN. 

The new and beautiful steamer Anglo-Norman left New 
Orleans December 14, 1850, on an experimental trip, having 



H. A KIDD OF N. O. CRESCENT. 463 

on board a large " pleasure party," consistinor of two hundred 
and ten persons. She proceeded in admirable style some dis- 
tance up the river, satisfy! nor ^11 on board that she was a first- 
rate sailer, and j^iving the promise of a brilliant career in the 
future; but having tacked and directed her course buck to the 
city, all of her boUers exploded at the same moment, shatter- 
ing a considerable part of the boat, and killing and wounding 
nearly half of the people on board. 

Mr. H. A. Kidd, editor of the New Orleans Crescent, was 
one of the excursionists, and was reported among the killed; 
but he lived to give a graphic account of his miraculous escape 
from death, which account he somewhat eccentrically entitled 
" The Experience of a Blown-up Man." Mr. Kidd says: — 

Mr. Bigny, one of the editors of the Delta and myself, took 
the only two chairs remaining unoccupied on the deck ; his chair 
having the back towards the pilot house, and mine with its 
back to the chimney. It will be seen at once that wehad 
seated ourselves immediately over the monster boilers of the 
boat. 

We had been engaged in conversation but a very few min- 
utes, when a jet of hot water, accompanied with steam, was 
forced out of the main pipe just alt the chimney, and fell 
near us in a considerable shower. I had never noticed any- 
thing of the kind before, and thought the occurrence very 
extraordinary. Just as I was about remarking this to Mr. 
Bigny, I was suddenly lifted high in the air, how high it is 
impossible for me to say. I have a distinct recollection of 
passing rather irregularly through the air, enveloped, as it 
seemed to me, in a dense cloud, through which no object was 
discernible. There was a sufficient lapse of time for me to 
have a distinct impression on my mind that I must inevitably 
be lost. In what position I went into the water, and to what 
depth I went, I have not the slightest idea. When I arose to 
the surface I wiped the water from my face, and attempted to 
obtain a view of things around me, but this I was prevented 
from doing by the vapor of steam, which enveloped every 
thing as a cloud. This obscuration, however, lasted but a 
short time, and when it had passed away, I had a clear con- 
ception of my situation. I found myself in possession of my 
senses, and my limbs in good working order. I looked 
around in every direction, and discovered that I was not far 
from the center of the river, and in the neighborhood of some 
twenty or thirty people, who seemed to have been thrown into 
the water somewhat in a heap. They were sustaining them- 
selves on the surface as best they could, many of them en- 



464 Gould's history of river navigation. 

deavoring to get possession of floating pieces of the wreck. 
I could see nothing of the exploded boat, and was fully satis- 
fied in my mind that she was blown all to pieces, and that all 
my fellow passengers were lost, except those who, like myself, 
were struggling in the water. I will do myself the simple 
justice to say that, from the time at which I had arisen to the 
surface, I had no apprehension of drowning, though to a more 
disinterested spectator the chances might have appeared to have 
been against me. I never felt more buoyant, or swam with 
greater ease. Still I thought it well enough to appropriate 
whatever aid was within my reach ; so like others, I began a 
race, which proved to be a tedious one, after a shattered piece 
of plank. I finally reached it, and putting my hands rather 
rudely upon it, I got a sousing for my pains. The piece was 
too small to render me any material service. I abandoned it, 
and turned in the direction of a steamboat, which I preceived 
advancing toward us. To keep my face towards the approach- 
ing steamer, I found that I had to oppose the strong current 
of the river. This, together with the coldness of the water, so 
exhausted my physical energies, that, for a brief space, I felt 
that I should not be able to keep afloat until the boat should 
reach me. As the steamer came near, there was a cry from 
mv unfortunate neighbors in the water. " Stop the boat 1 stop 
the boat I" 

HOLD ON, partner! HOLD ON ! 

There was, indeed great danger of our being run over by it. 
I had, however, no fears on this point, and made no effort to 
get out of its way. Fortunately for myself, I was one of the 
first which the boat approached. A sailor threw out to me a 
large rope, which I succeeded in grasping at the first effort. 
I was drawn to the boat's guards, whicli Avas several feet 
above the water. While drawing me up, the kind-hearted 
sailor cried, " Hold on, partner ! hold on !" But I could not, 
my strength being exhausted, the rope was slipping through 
my hands, and I should certainly have fallen back into the 
water, and been irrecoverably lost under the boat's guards, 
had not another sailor quickly reached down and seized hold 
of my arms. I was drawn on board as nearly lifeless as any 
one could be without being actually dead. Two stout men 
assisted me to reach the cabin. My chest as I discovered from 
its soreness and my spitting of blood, had been somewhat 
bruised, but a little bathing with whisky soon gave me relief. 
My friend Bigny was one of the first I met on board." 

Both these editors had been in the most dangerous part of 



LOSS OF MR. PERRY OF XEW ORLEANS BULLETIN. 465 

the boat, and their escape, ahnost without injury, was a re- 
markable instance of good fortune. One of the passengers 
who escaped remarked, that of the immense boilers, weigh- 
ing many tons, not a scrap as hirge as a man's head remained. 
Very few of the names of those who were killed could be 
ascertained, but the general opinion was that the number of 
victims could not be less than one hundred. Mr. Perry, 
who was attached to the office of the New Orleans Bulletin, 
was one of the killed. The Hon. James Bebee, a member of 
the Missouri State Legislature, was believed to have been lost. 



CHAPTER LXIII. 

SINKING OF THE JOHN L. AVERY. 

'T^HE John L. Aver}^ J. L. Robertson, commander, was a new 
-'- boat, built in the most substantial manner, and furnished 
with every necessary equipment for a first class passenger 
boat, being designed as a regular packet between New Orleans 
and Natchez. She left New Orleans, on her customary trip 
up the river, on March 7th, 1854. She stopped at Point 
Coupee and took in a large quantity of sugar and molasses; 
and on the 9th she passed the steamer Sultana, off Black 
Hawk point, forty miles below Natchez; and having left 
the Sultana (with which she ai)pears to have been rac- 
ing), about a mile astern, she struck what was supposed 
to be a tree, washed from the shore by a recent freshet. 
A very large leak in the bottom of the boat was the conse- 
quence of this accident, and although the pilot immediately 
steered for the shore, the steamer sunk liefore she could get 
near enough to land the passengers. Mr. J. V. Guthrie, an 
engineer, and the carpenter, were standing just forward of the 
boilers when they heard the crash — the boat at the same time 
making a sudden surge to one side. The carpenter immedi- 
ately lifted the scuttle-hatch and leaped into the hold, but 
finding the water pouring in too fast to admit of any attempt 
at repairing the damage, he made haste to get out again, in 
the same time o-jvino: notice to the engineer that the boat had 
snagged. Mr. Guthrie, perceiving that the boat was going 
down, hastened to the engine, but before he got there, he was 
up to his knees in water. The cabin passengers were hurried 
up to the hurricane deck. Soon after, the boat righted, and 
the hull separated from the cabin and sunk in sixty feet of 
water. 

30 



466 Gould's history of river navigation. 

As the hull parted from the upper works the surging of the 
waters caused the cabin floor to rise up against the hurricane 
root', and six persons who remained in the cabin were dragged 
out the skylight by Capt. Robertson and his two clerks. 

Mrs. Parmin, one of the six passengers rescued from that 
perilous situation, had her eldest child in her arms at the 
time, and was with difficulty prevented from plunging in again, 
as her babe was left asleep on the bed. But the situation of 
the deck passengers was the most calamitous ; there was a 
large number of them crowded in their alloted place, where 
they were walled in by hogsheads of sugar, which would have 
prevented their escape, if escape had been otherwise possible. 
Those unfortunate people were nearly all drowned. 

There were many Irish emigrants on board, whose names 
were unregistered, and there is a great deal of uncertainty re- 
specting the number of those who perished. Eye-witnesses 
testify that a large number of men, women and children could 
be seen drowning at one time. Of twenty firemen on board, 
twelve were drowned. The second mate and another person 
launched the life-boat, but it was almost immediately upset, 
probably by the eager and ill-directed efforts of the drowning 
people to get into it. The steamer Sultana, with which the 
Avery had been racing, promptly came to the rescue of the 
drowning crew and passengers, and was the means of saving 
some of them ; but the number lost is believed to be at least 
eighty or ninety. 

Mrs. Seymour, one of the passengers who escaped, relates 
the following incidents of the wreck : — 

While the passengers were at dinner, it was remarked that 
the atmosphere of the cabin was too overheated, a circum- 
stance which one of the party accounted for by stating that 
some unusual means had been used to get up extra steam, as 
the officers of the Avery were resolved to outrun the rival 
steamer. Sultana. Mrs. Seymour had retired to her state-room 
for an afternoon nap, from which she was aroused by the con- 
cussion when the boat struck ; and soon after she found her- 
self in the water. She was drawn up into the floating cabin 
by one of the waiters, named John Anderson, who, as Mrs. 
Seymour testifies, was instrumental in saving the lives of 
several other passengers. She states that her pocket-book, 
containing nine hundred dollars, which she had placed under 
her pillow, was lost. She also lost a manuscript which she 
was preparing for the press, and which she valued still more 
highly than her pocket-book. 

Mrs. Seymour continues: I cast my eyes upon the water, 



OH, MOTHER, HE CANNOT SAVE ME. 467 

which was covered with fragments of the cabin., To these 
frail supports human hands were clinging, while many human 
voices were crying, " Save me ! oh, save me !" The water at 
first was dotted with human heads, sinking and rising, and 
then sinking to rise no more. A sudden splash drew my at- 
tention to the side of the boat, and I saw that a young lady, 
who had been drawn from the inundated cabin through the 
skyhght and placed in safety on the floating deck, in the de- 
lirium of the moment had plunged again into the water, from 
which she never again emero:ed. Several others followed her 
example, but appearing again on the surface, they were res- 
cued by the waiter Anderson and two or three others of the 
boat's crew, who never slacked in their efforts to save human 
life. Two or three gentlemen leaped into the water and 
swam to land. A fine Texan pony, belonging to Mrs. Emer- 
son, escaped from the deck and endeavored to save himself by 
swimming. He reached the shore, but not being able to climb 
the bank, he fell back into the water and was drowned. In a 
faint but earnest tone, I heard a female voice say, "Oh, Will- 
iam, do save her !" On directing my gaze to the place from 
whence the voice came, I saw a woman sinking in the river. 
At the same time the child's voice exclaimed, " Oh, mother, 
he cannot save me !" I saw her fiiir hair, all wet, fall back 
from her young face as her little arms loosened their grasp 
on the neck of her brother, and the mother and her two chil- 
dren sank together. 

BURNING OF THE ORLINE ST. JOHN. 

The steiamboat Orline St. John left Mobile for Montgomery, 
Ala., on Monday evening, March 2d, 1850. On the fourth of 
the same month, when within four miles of her place of des- 
tination, she was discovered to be on fire on the larboard 
side, near the boilers. In less than three minutes from the 
time in which the first alarm was given, the whole cabin was 
enveloped in a sheet of flame. There were about one hundred 
and twenty human beings on board, and it is reported that no 
more than fifty of that number survived the destruction of 
the boat. As soon as the fire was discovered, the pilot 
steered for the shore, which the steamer fortunately reached 
before tiller-ropes were severed by the flames. The boat was 
run ashore in a dense cane-brake on' which her bow and waist 
rested, while the stern projected into the river. A few per- 
sons who happened to be on the forward part of the boat were 
landed without any difficulty, but the greater number of pas- 



468 Gould's history of river navigation. 

sengers ran aft, with the hope of getting into the yawl. But 
the deck passengers and a part of the crew got possession of 
this small boat and had already left the steamer. More than 
one hundred people were now collected at the stern, which, 
as mentioned cibovc, projected into the deep water, which 
effectually cut off all means of escape in that quarter ; and to 
go forward was now impossible, as the whole of the middle of 
the boat was completely wrapped in flames. To make the situ- 
ation of these people still more critical, the cabin threatened to 
fallen them. " As the flames spread aft (says an eye-witness), 
the scene was indeed terrible. The ladies and children had 
gathered in the extreme after-part of the boat, and their 
screams for help can never be erased from my memory." 

If the yawl had been brought back, all might have been 
saved ; but the deck hands who had taken possession of it ran 
it ashore in the cane-brake, and before the captain and second 
mate could bring it back, all who remained on the steamer, 
without a single exception, were drowned or burned to death. 
Every woman and child who had been in the boat was lost ; 
the only persons saved were those few who escaped over the 
bow when the boat struck, and the five or six deck hands who 
ran off with the yawl. There were a number of returned 
California 2:()ld dio-oers on board; such of them as saved their 
lives lost all the produce of their toils. No property of any 
kind was saved, except a trunk belonging to Col. Preston, 
which his servant threw over the bow into the cane-brake. 

explosion of the clipper. 

" This explosion, of which a very vague account has been 
preserved, took place on AYednesday, September 19th, 1843, 
at about a quarter ])ast twelve o'clock, m. One of the pas- 
sengers who lived to relate the story, and who appears to have 
powers of description peculiar to himself, states that the 
Clipper "blew up with a report that shook earth, air and 
heaven, as though the walls of the world were tumbling to 
pieces around our ears. All the boilers burst simultaneously ; 
vast fragments of machinery, huge beams of timber, articles 
of furniture, and human bodies, were shot up perpendicularly, 
as it seemed, hundreds of fathoms in the air, and fell like the 
jets of a fountain in various directions ; some dropping on the 
neighboring shore, some on the roofs of the houses, some into 
the river, and some on the deck of the boat. Some large frag- 
ments of the boilers, etc., were blown at least two hundred 
and fifty yards from the scene of the destruction. The hap- 



HUMAN BODIES SHOT LIKE CANNON BALLS. 469 

less victims were scalded, crushed and torn, man<yled and scat- 
tered in every possible direction ; some were thrown into the 
streets of the neiojhboring town (Bayou Sara), some on the 
other side of the bayou, three hundred yards distant, and 
some into the river. Several of these unfortunates were torn 
in pieces by coming in contact with pickets or posts, and I 
myself (says the same credible witness), saw pieces of human 
bodies which had been shot like cannon balls through the solid 
walls of houses at a considerable distance from the boat." 

Every object in front of the wheel-house was swept away 
as if by a whirlwind. A gentleman who visited the place 
where the killed and wounded had been deposited, at Bayou 
Sara, says: "The scene was such as we never hope to look 
upon again. The floors of the two large ware-rooms were 
literally strewn with the wounded and dying, and others were 
pouring in as fast as it was possible to convey them to the spot. 
The sufferers were i)raying, groaning and writhing in every 
contortion of physical agony." 

EXPLOSION OF THE LOUISIANA ONE OF THE MOST FATAL 

ON RECORD. 

'* A few minutes after five o'clock, on the evening of No- 
vember 15, 1849, the steamboat Loui.siana, Captain Cannon, 
lying at the foot of Gravier street, New Orleans, had com- 
pleted all the preparations for her departure for St. Louis. 
She was laden with a valuable cargo, and had on board a largo 
number of i)asseiigers. The last bell had rung, the machinery 
set in motion ; but at that moment the boat disengaged her- 
self from the wharf and began to back out into the river, all 
the boilers exploded with a concussion which shook all the 
houses for many squares around to their very foundations. 
The Louisiana was lying between two other steamers — the 
Bostona and Storm — the upper works of which were com- 
pletely wrecked; their chimneys were carried away, and their 
cabins were shattered to small fragments. The violence of 
the explosion was such, that large pieces of the boilers were 
blown hundreds of yards from the wharf, falling on the levee 
and in different parts of the city. One of these iron frag- 
ments cut a mule in two, and then struck a horse and dray, 
killing both driver and horse instantly.' 

Another mass of iron, of considerable size, was projected 
into the corner of Canal and Front streets, two hundred yards 
from the exploded steamer, where it threw down three large 
iron pillars which supported the roof of the portico of a coffee- 



470 Gould's history of river navigation. 

bouse. Before it reached the iron pillar, this fragment passed 
through several bales of cotton, which lay in its passage. 

The tremendous detonation gave notice of the accident to 
the whole city, and soon all the levee near Gravier street was 
thronged with anxious and sympathizing spectators. A 
number of bodies, in every conceivable state of mutilation, 
had been dragged from the wreck, and were surrounded by 
the immense crowd which had assembled. Hacks and furni- 
ture cars were sent for, and the wounded were conveyed with 
as much dispatch as possible to the hospital. The sight of the 
mangled bodies on every side, the groans of the dying, and 
the shrieks of the agonized sufferers, produced a general thrill 
of horror among the crowd. The body of a man was seen, 
with the head and one leg off, and the entrails torn out. A 
woman, whose long hair lay wet and matted by her side, had 
one leg off, and her body was shockingly mangled. A large 
man having his skull mashed in, lay dead on the levee; his 
face looked as though it had been painted red, having been 
flayed by the scalding water. Others of both sexes, crushed, 
scalded, burned, mutilated and dismembered, lay about in 
every direction. Two bodies were found locked together, 
brought by death into a sudden and long embrace. 

But it is utterlj^ impossible to describe all the revolting ob- 
jects which presented themselves to the view of the beholders, 
suffice it to say, that death was there exhibited in all its most 
hideous forms ; and yet the fate of many who still lived was 
more shocking and distressingthan the ghastly and disfigured 
corpses of those whose sufferings were terminated by death. 

A gentleman who was a passenger on the Louisiana, says that 
he was standing on the hurricane deck, abaft the wheel house, 
at the time of the explosion, and though his })Osition was most 
perilous, he fortunately escaped unhurt. He distinctly saw 
the faces and arms of several ladies and gentlemen who were 
vainly struggling to free themselves from the falling planks and 
timbers. They were carried down with the boat when she 
sunk. The steamer went down within ten minutes after the 
explosion ; and it is thought that many citizens who went aboard 
to assist the wounded, sunk with the boat. The passenger 
mentioned above succeeded in saving a little negro boy. The 
river was covered with fragments of the wreck, to many of 
which persons who had been thrown overboard were clinging, 
and a number of small boats were engaged in taking them up. 
The confusion was so great that it was quite impossible to as- 
certain the names of one quarter of those who were killed; 
and as a promiscuous crowd of strangers, emigrants, &c., were 



150 LIVES LOST BY THIS EXPLOSION. 471 

on board, the o;re;iter number of them could not be identified. 
It is generally admitted that this disaster caused a greater 
loss of life than ever took place on the Mississippi, before or 
since. The most authentic accounts make the number of 
killed one hundred and fifty, and some estimates extend to 
two hundred. The mayor of New Orleans judged from his 
own observations and diligent inquiries on the spot, that one 
hundred and fifty lives were lost, at the lowest calculation. 

The steamer Storm, which lay in close proximity to the 
Louisiana, was as almost completely wrecked as the last named 
boat itself, and was driven out fifty yards from the wharf by 
the concussion. Several persons on board the Storm were 
killed or wounded. The captain himself was severely injured, 
but appeared on deck, his face covered with blood, and calmly 
gave directions for clearing the wreck, and bringing his boat 
back to the wharf. 

The fragments of iron, and blocks and splinters of wood, 
which were sent with the rapidity of lighting from the ill-fated 
Louisiana, carried death and destruction in all directions. 
Persons were killed or wounded at the distance of two hundred 
yards from the boat. There were many miraculous escapes. 
Dr. Testut, of New Orleans, was standing on the wharf, 
having just parted from his friend Dr. Biondine, of Point 
Coupee, who had embarked in the Louisiana, and was killed 
by the explosion. A fragment of iron struck a man at Dr. 
Testut's feet; the poor fellow while falling stretched out his 
hands and convulsively grasped the doctor's paletot, tearing 
a pocket nearly out. His grasp was soon relaxed by death. 
Among the citizens who received severe injuries from the 
flying pieces of the wreck was Mr. Wray, a clerk in the house 
of Moses Greenwood & Co., who had been onboard of the 
steamer Knoxville, lying below the ferry landing, and was 
passing up at the time. He was struck on the thigh by a piece 
of wood, and so badly wounded that amputation was necessary. 
Several newsboys, who had been selling papers on the Louisi- 
ana, and had just gone ashore, were killed. 

The bodies of persons who had been in the steamer were, 
in some instances, blown to the height of two hundred feet in 
the air, some of them falling on the wharf and some into the 
river. Legs, arms, and the dismembered trunks of human 
bodies, were scattered over the levee. One man, it is said, 
was blown through the pilot house of the steamer Bostona, 
making a hole through the panels which looked like the work 
of a cannon ball. 

Among those who were killed on board of the Storm was 



472 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Mrs. Moody, wife of the first clerk, who was standing 
on the guard opposite the hidies' cabin. Twelve or fifteen 
other persons were killed in this boat, and several others 
were wounded, some of them mortally. The Storm had just 
arrived with passengers from Cincinnati, none of whom had 
been landed. 

During the night thirty bodies, all strangers, were brought 
to the watch house of the Second municipality. Capt. Can- 
non, of the Louisiana, was on the wharf at the time of the ex- 
plosion. He had stopped for a moment to speak to an 
acquaintance and this delay probably saved his life. A lady 
and her two children escaped from the wreck of the boat as it 
was sinking. 

The effects of this disaster, unexampled in the history of 
steam navigation, were visible in every circle of society at 
New Orleans. Dismay was in every countenance, and the 
whole city seemed to be in mourning for the numerous dead ; 
while every heart was deeply affected with sympath}' for the 
surviving friends, and for all who were suffering in body or 
mind from the effects of the dreadful catastrophe." 

explosion of the ST. JAMES. 

" The St. James was a high pressure boat owned by Capt. 
W. H. Wright. She was built at Cincinnati in 1850, and was 
employed on the Mississippi River until about a month before 
her destruction, at which time she was engaged on Lake Pont- 
chartrain. The accident took place on that Lake, at Point 
Aux Herbes. The St. James left Bay St. Louis on Sunday 
nio-ht, July 4th, 1852, in compan}^ with the steamboat Cali- 
fornia, having on board a large number of persons who had 
been spending the anniversary of independence at the water- 
ing places. Between two and three o'clock on the morning 
of the fifth, the St. James stopped at the point designated 
above, fifteen miles from the Pontchartrain railway landing, 
and having taken in several passengers, started again on her 
course. Her companion, the California, was at this time a 
short distance astern; each boat, probably, was endeavoring 
to out-run the other, and it is conjectured that the officers of 
the St. James, in their eagerness to beat their rival, exposed the 
lives of their passengers to very obvious danger. 

The St. James had run scarcely two hundred yards from the 
point where she had stopped, when all the boilers exploded, 
and nearlv at the same moment the boat took fire. The 
stanchions being torn away at the explosion, the whole of 



THE SCENE BEGGARS DESCRIPTION. 473 

the boiler deck fell upon the boilers and machinery, precipi- 
tatino- a great many persons into the lower part of the boat, 
which was now flooded with scalding water, or strewn with the 
ignited fuel, which had been scattered abroad. Owing to 
this circumstance, a number of passengers who had not been 
injured by the explosion itselt were severely scalded or burned 
when the deck fell in. As the time at which the disaster took 
place was long before daylight, many of the passengers were 
asleep. Some of them awoke in eternity, without knowing, 
perhaps, what cause had hurried them thither, and others were 
aroused from their slumbers by a sense of intolerable bodily 
anguish. Vainly would we attempt to picture the scene which 
now presented itself on the burning steamer. The shrieks of 
the affrighted passengers were heard on board the California, 
and Captain Ensign, of that steamer, immediately steered for 
the wreck. The space between the two boats was lighted up 
by the conflagration to the brightness of mid-day, and the 
spectators from the California could see the terrified men and 
women on board of the St. James hurrying to and fro, 
wringing their hands, or seizing on such articles as they could 
use for temporary support, and jumping into the lake. The 
screams were awfully distinct and harrowing, as they arose 
not from the burning boat alone, but from the water in all 
directions, where many human beings were shouting for help, 
or gasping in the last agony. Voices were calling from all 
points as the boats of the California went about swiftly picking 
up all who could be reached. The horrified eyes of the people 
on the California could see men cease to struggle and go 
down, while those who saw them perish had no power to save. 
It was a scene to harrow the soul of humanity, a scene which 
could not be remembered without horror, and one that could 
never be forgotten. 

As the California approached the burning wreck, the heat 
was so great that Captain Ensign was compelled by a due re- 
gard for the persons under his charge, to haul off a short dis- 
tance. The boats belonging to the California were launched, 
manned and sent to the aid of the sufferers. The flames arose 
from the center of the St. James, and Captain Ensign, while 
making a second attempt to reach the persons on the wreck, 
succeeded by nice management, in getting under the stern, 
and a large number of ladies and gentlemen from the St. 
James were thus enabled to reach the deck of the California. 
All who were saved owe the preservation of their lives to Cap- 
tain Ensign." 



474 Gould's history of river navigation. 



BURNING or THE GEORGIA. 

"Oil Saturday night, January 28, 1854, the steamboat 
Georgia was burnt on Alabama River, between Montgomery 
and Mobile. She had two hundred and thirty passengers on 
board, thirty or forty of whom are believed to have perished. 
When the fire was discovered, the boat was run ashore as 
speedily as possible. The scene which followed was one of 
indescribable confusion. One who saw it declares that women 
and children were " pitched on the shore like logs of wood ;" 
the necessity of getting them out of the burning bout with the 
greatest dispatch seemed to require such rough and uncere- 
monious handling. Several who were thus thrown out of the 
boat fell into the water and were drowned, and others struck 
the ground with such violence as to cause serious injuries. 
Mr. Jackson, of Barbour County, Ala., and one of his chil- 
dren, were lost. His widow and eight surviving children, 
who were on board with him, were left at Mobile, in destitute 
circumstances. Mr. Jackson had on his person checks and 
drafts to a considerable amount, which were also lost. Mr. 
Jolley and his family, of Randolph County, Georgia, were on 
the boat. The wife of this gentleman and one of his children 
were drowned. He lost besides $900 doUars in specie, and 
was left penniless. B. F. Lofton, of Lenoir Countj^ N. C, 
lost two slaves. Rev. J. M. Carter, of Clinton, Ga., lost 
three negroes. His wife was badly burned. Dr. J. M. 
Young, of Hancock, Ga., lost a valuable slave,, all his medical 
books, surgical instruments, and everything, in short, except 
the clothing which he wore at the time of the disaster, Mrs. 
Davidson, from Macon County, Ala., lost several negroes. 
Mr. Graham, from Williamsburgh, S. C, lost two negroes 
and $500 in gold. Thos. J. McLanathan, of Bristol, Conn., 
was drowned. A gentleman from Stewart County, Ga., lost 
several slaves. A woman who fell or leaped from the cabin 
floor to the main deck was caught on the horns of an infuri- 
ated ox, and thereby received several severe wounds, but the 
animal threw her into the water and she was saved. A father, 
who had rescued his wife and six children, went back into the 
blazing wreck, hoping to save the seventh, but lost his 
own life. A young man who had escaped to the shore, re- 
turned to the boat to bring away his sister, but he was seen to 
fall into the blazing hull, from which he never emerged. 
Another man saved three of his children, but his wife and six 
of his other children were consumed on this funeral pyre. A 



EFFECT OF ACCIDENTS ON DIFFERENT PERSONS. 475 

young man who had lost his wife in the wreck, sat on the 
wharf to all appearances an indifferent spectator of the fright- 
ful scene. It appeared afterwards that his grief had reduced 
him to melancholy madness, or idiotic apathy. Another 
young man who had seen his father and mother perish in the 
boat, loudly lamented the loss of $1,000 which the old gentle- 
man had deposited in the safe. This bereavement seemed to 
be the only one which occupied his thoughts. W. B. Rhenn, 
of Newbern, N. C, saved himself, his wife, and his five 
children, but lost nine slaves. 

Of the forty persons who perished in this conflagration 
twenty -two were negroes belonging to the cabin passengers, 
and more than half of the others were children. From the 
moment that the flames broke out until the fate of each per- 
son on board, for life or death, was decided, only three 
minutes elapsed ; so quick was the work of destruction. 



LOSS OF THE STEAMBOAT MECHANIC. 

The steamboat Mechanic had been chartered at Nashville for 
the conveyance of General Lafayette and suite to Marietta, 
Ohio. She departed from the former place on Friday morn- 
ing. May Gth, 1825, having on board, besides her officers and 
crew. General Lafayette, General Carroll and staff. Governor 
Coles, of Illinois, General O' Fallon, Major Nash, of Missouri, 
and several other gentlemen as passengers. On the following 
Sunday, about 12 o'clock, midnight, while the steamer was 
ascending the Ohio, and when near the mouth of Deer Creek, 
about one hundred and twenty-five miles below Louisville, a 
severe shock was felt by the persons on board, and it was soon 
ascertained that the boat had struck some object under the sur- 
face of the water. The commander, Capt. Hall, presently 
announced to the passengers in the cabin that the boat had 
snagged. Capt. Hall then caused the yawl to be made ready 
to convey General Lafayette and the passengers ashore. In 
the meanwhile, the General had been aroused from his slum- 
bers and was soon prepared to leave the steamer. 

As the night was very dark', and great confusion prevailed 
on board. General Lafayette, while attempting to descend into 
the yawl, was precipitated into the river and would have 
been drowned but for the assistance of one of the deck- 
hands, whose name we have been unable to ascertain. The 
General, although far advanced in years, was able to keep 
himself above water until help arrived. He lost eight thou- 



476 Gould's history of river navigation. 

sand dollars in money, besides his carriage, clothing, etc., but 
finally reached the shore in safety. 

While Capt. Hall was devoting all his attention to the pres- 
ervation of his passengers, his desk, containing one thousand 
three hundred dollars, was lost overboard and was never 
recovered. 

SINKING OF THE BELLE ZANE. 

" On the eighth of January, 1845, the steamboat Belle Zane, 
while on her way from Zanesville, Ohio, to New Orleans, 
struck a snag in the Mississippi, about twelve miles below the 
mouth of the White River, and immediately turned bottom 
upward. This terrible accident took place in the middle of 
an exceedingly cold night. Of ninety persons who were on 
board a moment before the disaster, only fifty escaped drown- 
ing — and many of those who succeeded in reaching the shore 
were afterwards frozen to death. At the time the boat was 
snagged, the passengers were all in their berths; those who 
were able to extricate themselves when the boat suddenly 
turned over, had scarcely any clothing to protect them from 
the inclemency of the weather. No situation could be more 
wretched than that of the people who escaped to the beach, 
almost naked, unsheltered and drenched with water on a 
freezing night in December. They remained in this miserable 
situation for nearly two hours, when the steamboat Diamond 
came down and took off all who remained alive, sixteen in 
number. There were five ladies on board, all of whom were 
saved in the yawl. The feet and hands of some of the sur- 
vivors were so badly frozen that amputation was necessary.'* 

EXPLOSION OF THE GLENCOE. 

" On the 3d day of April, 1852, the Glencoe, Captain Lee, 
from New Orleans, arrived at St. Louis, and had just been 
moored at the levee, foot of Chestnut Street, when three of 
her boilers exploded, with the most appalling and destructive 
effects. The sound of the explosion was heard in the most 
remote quarters of the city ; in the neighborhood of the levee 
the shock was like an earthquake, the houses for several 
squares around appeared to reel under the force of the con- 
cussion. The boat was crowded with people at the time; 
the passengers were engaged in looking after their baggage, 
and numbers of citizens, hotel-runners, hackmen, etc., had 
pressed into the boat. There was a fearful loss of life, but 



AFTER THE EXPLOSION BURNED TO WATERS EDGE. 477 

the names and numbers of the killed are beyond the scope of 
inquiry, as many of the victims were strangers; the bodies of 
a larire number blown overboard were not recovered from the 
water, and many of the dead were so shockingly disfigured or 
torn to pieces that all recognition was out of the question. 
Fragments of wood, iron, and dead bodies were thrown to a 
surprising distance. 

The shock of the explosion drove the steamer far out into 
the river, and immediately afterwards she took fire, the fur- 
naces having been dismantled, and the burning fuel scattered 
over the decks. As the Glencoe floated down the stream, she 
presented a frightful spectacle. The whole forward part of 
the boat to the wheel-house, and down to the water line, had 
been swept away, all the after-part was a commingled mass of 
timl)ers, freight, and bodies heaped together in the wildest 
confusion. The fire burned fiercely and spread rapidly. The 
spectators on shore beheld men, women and children running, 
with frenzied gestures, from one part of the burning steamer 
to another, seeking some means of escape from the dreadful 
death with threatened them — some who had been caught be- 
tween the falling timbers were writhing in agony, making in- 
effectual efforts to extricate themselves, imploring others to 
assist them. Numbers of the crew and passengers were com- 
pelled by the advancing flames to throw themselves over- 
board, some of these succeeded in reaching the shore, but many 
of them were drowned. 

In the meantime several small boats were actively engaged 
in rescuing the drowning people, and a considerable number 
were saved in this manner. The wreck finally lodged at the 
foot of Poplar Street, where it burned to the water's edge, 
and then sunk, carrying down with it the ashes and the bones 
of the dead. Near the spot where the explosion took place 
many dead bodies and dying persons were extended on the 
levee. Thirteen mutilated corpses were soon after removed 
to the office of the Board of Health, that being the most con- 
venient place where they could be deposited. Twenty or 
thirty of the wounded were conveyed to the Sisters" Hospital. 
Others who were less injured were running about the levee in 
a frantic manner, crying for assistance. The dead bodies of 
five persons who had been blown from the deck of the Glencoe 
were found on the steamer Cataract. They were dreadfully 
mangled, the limbs in some cases being torn from the trunk, 
heads were mashed and disfigured to a degree which defied all 
attempts at identification. The body of a woman was found 
on the levee stretched across a marble slab (the top of a table 



478 Gould's history of river navigation. 

which had also been blown from the boat), every bone in this 
corpse was broken, and "the' limbs," says an eye witness, 
"were so badly mangled that they could scarcely hang to- 
gether." 

The body of Mr. John Denny, first clerk of the Glencoe, 
was found on the hurricane deck of the steamer Western 
World. Few external injuries were found on his body, but 
life was totally extinct. The body of a little girl, with the 
legs torn off, was recovered from the river. The dis- 
severed leg of a man was picked up on the sidewalk in Com- 
mercial street ; the boot, which remained on the limb, led to 
the recognition thereof as a part of the mortal remains of 
William Brennan, one of the engineers. Of thirteen wounded 
persons who were sent to the hospital, three died during the 
night, and scarcely any of the others were believed to be 
curable. 

Capt. Lee, his lady and one of his children, left the boat as 
soon as she landed, and a very few minutes before the explo- 
sion. The Captain's little son, ten years of age, who re- 
mained on board, was killed. Mr. A. R. Jones, a merchant of 
St. Louis, was instrumental in saving a great number of lives. 
He obtained a yawl, and approached the burning boat near 
enough to take off a great many passengers. As an acknowl- 
edgment ot his humane services in the time of danger and 
affliction, the steamboatmen of St. Louis presented Mr. Jones 
with a handsome silver mug, bearing a suitable inscription." 

explosion of the SALUDA. 

"The Saluda exploded on Missouri River, near Lexington, 
April 9th, 1852. It appears that this boat had been detained 
in the neighborhood of Lexington for four days, by a strong 
tide. Several of her passengers left her to seek other convey- 
ances. On the day above mentioned, the captain made 
another effort to stem the current. The steamer left the 
landing at half-past one o'clock a. m., and five minutes after 
the boilers exploded with such tremendous effect that the 
cabin and all the wood-work forward of the wheel-house 
were completely demolished, and not a piece of timber was 
left above the guards. The boat sunk within a few minutes. 
The books were all lost, and the names of all the passengers 
who were killed by the explosion or who sunk with the boat 
could not be ascertained. The number of those who perished 
is estimated at one hundred. 

The commander, Capt. Belt, who was on the hurricane 



LACK OF WATER CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION. 479 

roof, was blown high in the air, and fell against the side of a 
hill in Lexington, at least one hundred feet from the wreck. 
The second clerk, Mr. John Blackburn, was standing on the 
boiler deck, and was also blown on shore, to a considerable 
distance from the boat. He was taken up dead. It may be 
mentioned as a melancholy coincidence, that a brother of this 
gentleman (E. C. Bhickburn) was killed by the accident on 
the Pacific Railroad in November, 1855. They were both 
highly esteemed by all who knew them. The mutilated bodies 
of a large number of passengers of the Saluda were found in 
the streets of Lexington. Charles Labarge and Louis 
Gareth, the pilots, and Messrs. Clancy and Evans, the en- 
gineers, were lost. Their bodies were blown into the river, 
and were never recovered. One of the surviving passengers 
lost his wife and seven children. A lady was deprived of her 
husband and three children. Such was the force of the ex- 
plosion that a part of the boiler passed through a warehouse 
on the wharf, and quite demolished it. Tlie citizens of Lex- 
ington subscribed $1,000 for the relief of the sufferers. The 
accident is ascribed to the negligence of the engineer." 

BURNING OF THE BULLETIN NO. 2. 

The steamboat Bulletin No. 2, Capt. C. B. Church, was 
burned on the Mississippi River, near Islands No. 96, 97, 
March 24th, 1855. A large quantity of cotton was among the 
freight, and this highly combustible article caused the flames 
to spread rapidly. The boat was run ashore as quickly as 
possible ; but as soon as she struck the bank, she bounded 
back again, and floated down the river until consumed to the 
level of the water. The surface of the river was covered with 
floating bales of ignited cotton; and many persons who leaped 
overboard, while attempting to save themselves by clinging to 
these fiery masses, were severely burned. One of the cabin 
passengers stated that he was sitting on the hurricane deck, 
when the fire first appeared, and before he could get a bucket 
of water to throw on it, the whole boat was in a blaze. If the 
force pumps had been in good order (which was not the 
case), the flames could easily have been suppressed. An eye 
witness thinks that the boat and the lives of many passengers 
could have been saved, if gum elastic hose had been provided 
for such an emergency. Certainly it shows shameful and 
criminal neglect on the part of the captain or owners, when a 
steamer is without such apparatus. While the boat was burn- 
ing, the passengers were greatly excited and dismayed ; but 



480 Gould's history of river navigation. 

we have one instance of surprising coolness, whether it pro- 
ceeded from courage or stupidity, we will not pretend to say. 
A gentleman was standing in the cabin with perfect com- 
posure and apparent unconcern while the fire was making 
rapid progress in every direction. Capt. Church advised this 
stoical person to take off the door of a state-room and en- 
deavor to save himself thereon. "Make yourself easy. Cap- 
tain," was the calm response; "I am safe enough." And, 
sure enough, he was saved. This anecdote reminds us of one 
which is told of a celebrated gambler, who leaped from a 
burning boat into the Mississippi, exclaiming: " Now, gallows, 
save your own ! " 

Some of the passengers of the Bulletin succeeded in leaping 
on shore from the forecastle at the moment the steamer 
struck the land, but a large majority, who were in the after- 
part of the boat, were cnt off from this means of escape. 
Capt. Church and all the other officers of the boat faithfully 
used every effort to save the passengers, and the Captain re- 
mained so long on board for this purpose that his own life 
nearly became the sacrifice of his fidelity. When driven to 
the last refuge on the wreck, by the flames, he threw himself 
into the water. The boat had drifted out to such a distance 
from the shore, that he would infallibly have been drowned, 
had not a skiff, which happened to be near, come to his as- 
sistance. 

BURNING OF THREE STEAMERS. 

Between the hours of 12 and 1 o'clock, on Monday morn- 
ing, December 3d, 1855, afire broke out on board the steam 
packet, George Collier, Captain Burdett Paris, lying at the 
lower landing, Memphis, Teun. The steamer had just arrived, 
and had not been made fast, when the mate discovered the 
fire in a small closet under a flight of steps in the forward part 
of the boat. From this small beginning, the flames spread to 
every part of the steamer, in less than five minutes, all 
eflbrts to arrest the progress proving ineffectual. 

Captain Burdett, perceiving that the total destruction of the 
boat was inevitable, gave the alarm to the passengers of the 
cabin. His first efforts were directed to the ladies, and in this, 
by almost superhuman exertions, he succeeded. The male 
passengers and some of the officers of the crew were com- 
pelled to save themselves by jumping off, some into the river 
and some on the lower deck of the wharf-boat, which lay near 
the Collier. This fine wharf-boat was called the Mary Hunt, 
together with the Mayflower, Capt. Jos. Brown, which lay on 



GRAND AND TERRIBLE SIGHT. 481 

the other side, was soon involved in the fate of the Collier, 
and the three bnrning vessels are said to have presented one 
of the most magnificent and terrible spectacles ever witnessed 
in that locality. A flood of light, even at that hour, made 
every object distinctly visible for a great distance around the 
conflagration. Crowds of people rushed to the wharves, all 
in the most intense excitement and anxiety for the fate of 
many people who were knovvn to be on board the blazing 
steamer. There were more than forty passengers on the 
George Collier, who, together with the officers and crew, made 
a total of sixty-five or seventy people, all of whom, for a time, 
appeared to be doomed to agonizing death. The register of 
the passengers names were destroyed with the boat. It is im- 
possible, therefore, to state how many lives were lost, but 
twelve persons, at least, are known to have perished. 

The George Collier had just completed her trip from New 
Orleans to Memphis, with a valuable cargo, all of which was 
destroyed. None of the passengers had landed." 

THE MARTHA WASHINGTON. 

" The loss of the steamer Martha Washington, with its at- 
tendant circumstances, is one of the most extraordinary events 
in the records of marine disasters, a cloud of mystery hang- 
ing over the whole subject, will probably never be cleared 
away. This steamer, Captain Cummins, commander, was on 
her way from Cincinnati to New Orleans, when she took fire 
on the Mississippi River, near Island No. 65, at about half- 
past one o'clock, on the morning of January 14, 1852. The 
boat was entirely consumed. Several passengers lost their 
lives, but all the officers and crew, except the carpenter, were 
saved. The work of destruction was completed within three 
minutes. A whole family, consisting of a man, his wife and 
two children, perished in the flames. Two or three other per- 
sons were either burned to death or drowned while attemptino- 
to escape from the fire. The books and papers of the boat 
were lost. 

The burning of this boat has given occasion for several law- 
suits and criminal prosecutions. A charge of conspiring to 
burn the boat has been made by Sidney C. Burton, of Cleve- 
land, Ohio, against Wm. Kissane, L. L. Filley, the brothers 
Chapin, Lyman Cole, Alfred Nicholson, the clerk of the 
Martha Washington, and several others. It was alleged that a 
heavy insurance on the cargo was obtained from several offices, 
and that the boat had been fraudulently laden with boxes con- 

31 



482 Gould's history of river navigation. 

taining nothing more valuable than bricks, stones, and rubbish. 
It is said that in the summer of 1852, L. L. Filley, of Cin- 
cinnati, one of the persons implicated in the crime, confessed 
on his death-bed that there had been no merchandise shipped 
on the Martha Washington, and that the boat had been 
designedly set on fire to defraud the insurance companies. 
Sidney C. Burton states that he shipp.ed on this boat a quan- 
tity of leather valued at $1,500, and that he was unable to 
obtain the insurance money, because the insurance officers 
protested that the boat had been fraudulently set on fire. At 
the suit of Mr. Burton, the persons named were arrested on 
the charge of conspiring to burn the boat, which involved 
the charge of murdering the passengers who were lost. Kis- 
sane was tried at Lebanon, Ohio, and afterwards at Cincin- 
nati, and was convicted ; he obtained a new trial and was ac- 
quitted. All the persons implicated were afterwards tried at 
Columbus, Ohio, for conspiracy, forgery, &c., but the jury 
brought in a verdict of " not guilty." Burton then obtained 
a requisition from the Governor of Arkansas on the authori- 
ties of Ohio, and had all the accused parties arrested by Offi- 
cer Bruen, at the Walnut Street House, Cincinnati, in 1854. 
They were hurried into an omnibus, heavily ironed and ill- 
treated, and conveyed down to one of the wharves below 
Cincinnati, placed on a boat, and carried away to Jefferson- 
ville, Ind.,and from thence to Helena, Ark., to be tried for 
murder, arson, &c., where they were confined in a miserable 
jail three months. 

They were again acquitted in the court of Arkansas. But 
the determined prosecutor again returned to the charge. Kis- 
sane, one of the defenders, in order to raise money to defray 
the expenses of his legal defense, committed a forgery on the 
Chemical Bank of New York in the summer of 1854. Some 
of his friends and advocates assert that he committed this deed 
in mere desperation, having been driven to the last extremity 
by the prosecution or persecutions of Burton. Kissane was 
arrested for this forgery, but while in the custody of an ofii- 
cer he contrived to make his escape from the r?ilroad car by 
creeping through an aperture in the water closet. After con- 
cealing himself for some time, he was retaken, tried and sen- 
tenced to the State's prison, at Sing Sing, two and a half 
years; but in December, 1855, he was pardoned by Governor 
Clark, of New York. In the same month and year the grand 
jury of Hamilton County, Ohio, found a true bill against 
Burton, the prosecutor of Kissane, &c., and another person 
named Coons, for perjury. Coons acknowledged that Burton 



PROBABILITY OF BURTON BEING POISONED. 483 

had paid him for giving in false evidence at the trial of the 
persons charged with l)urning the Martha Washington. 

Such being the facts of the case, there are many conflicting 
opinions in rehition to the guilt or innocence of the parties 
charged with the horrid crime of setting fire to the steamer 
and sacrificing the lives of several persons, for the purpose of 
obtaining a sum of money from the insurance companies. 
Several other instances of a mysterious and romantic charac- 
ter are rehited in connection with this narrative. Sidney C. 
Burton, the prosecutor of Kissane, etc., lately died (Decem- 
ber 11th, 1855), at Cleveland, Ohio, in circumstances which 
gave a color of probability to a prevailing suspicion that he 
was poisoned. It is mentioned also that an attempt was before 
made to poison him at a hotel in Columbus, Ohio. The 
whole affliir presents a tangled web which it would require a 
good deal of ingenuity to unravel. 



CHAPTEK LXIV/ 

WESTERN RIVER IMPROVEMENT AND WRECKING COMPANY. 

[From Sketch Book, 1858.] 

^''T^HE first diving-bell boat on the Mississippi, we believe, 

JL was constructed and used by VVm. Thomas, formerly 

proprietor of the Sectional Docks, in this city, upon the wreck 

of a steamboat sunk between St. Louis and Alton about 1838. 

His efforts were only partially successful, the diving-bell 
boats used being only flat-boats. 

These boats, with some few extra contrivances of Mr. 
Thomas were all the public had to depend upon until 1842, 
when the Submarine No. 1 was built. She was considered 
quite a prodigy in her day and was built by Eads, Nelson & 
Case. The latter estimable gentleman lost his life at the un- 
fortunate calamity of the " Gasconade bridge." 

This boat was used only for the purpose of raising cargo 
from sunken boats. In 1845 Messrs. Eads and Case retired 
from the firm, and the business was conducted by Mr. Nelson 
alone, until the year 1847, when a company was formed, com- 
posed of Messrs. Nelson, Eads & McDowell. The latter 
partner, however, soon withdrew, and the business was con- 
ducted for ten years by Messrs. Eads & Nelson. 

In 1848 the Submarine No. 2, was built at Cairo, and was 
eminently successful. 



484 Gould's history or river navigation. 

In 1849 the No. 3 was completed, and her first efforts were 
spent in clearing the St. Louis harbor of 28 wrecks of steam- 
boats from the great fire of tliat spring. 

In 1851 the Submarine No. 4 was built at Paducah, Ken- 
tucky, and inaugurated anew era in the business of wrecking 
on Western rivers. She was provided with one of ^^ Grimes' 
patent pumps,'' which was one of the most powerful ones 
that hud ever been invented, and this company had the sole 
right to use it on all waters of the Mississippi Valley. Since 
1851, they have raised by the use of this pump some 50 
steamboats, a thing before thought to be impossible in many 
cases. 

In 1855, the five snag-boats built by the government for re- 
moving the Red River raft, and which cost $185,000, were 
bought by Eads and Nelson, and converted into submarine 
boats, and used for vfrecking purposes. 

In 1856 and '7, the No.''? was built at a cost of $80,000, 
and was undout)tedly the most complete boat of the kind in 
the world, and was capable of raising the largest vessels. 
After the purchase of these snag-boats a proposition was 
made by this company to the government in 1856, to remove 
the snags, stumps, rocks and sunken boats from the chan- 
nel of the river for a fixed sum per annum for a term of 
years. But from the hostility that then was entertained by 
President Pierce and his advisers against the " internal im- 
provement " system, the proposition was not accepted. In 
1857 a liberal charter was secured from the Missouri Legisla- 
ture under the name and style of Western River Improvement 
and Wrecking Company, with a capital of $250,000, which 
was readily subscribed by many of the best business men in 
St. Louis. The affairs of the company were conducted by 
seven directors, viz. : Charles K. Dickson, Thomas H. Larkin, 
T. A. Buckland, S. H. Lafiin, Charles Tilden, E. W. Gould. 

This company is a standing rebuke to the government of 
the United States. Instead of removing the obstructions 
which offer constant peril to the entire commerce of the West, 
it leaves to private enterprise to do that which justice and 
right clearly point out as its duty. While millions of acres of 
land are donated for building railroads, which in the end 
mainly benefit speculators in lands and railroad stocks, not a 
dollar is appropriated to improve the navigation of the rivers 
that the whole West are compelled to use as the highway to 
the markets of the world, at a cost largely increased in conse- 
quence of the excessive rates of insurance. 

This company has a standing salvage contract with all 



CAPT. J. B. EADS, SECOXD CLERK ON A STEAMBOAT. 485 

the principal insurance companies in the United States by 
which they are authorized to proceed at once to save any prop- 
erty wrecked on Western rivers, in which they are interested, 
at a stipulated rate of salvage. 

In this way many steamboats are raised without removinoj 
the cargo and taken to the nearest dry docks and repaired, 
even before the underwriters are made aware of their loss, and 
Consequently the company occupies a very important position 
in commercial circles, and one from which they are undoubt- 
edly reaping a handsome reward." 

This wrecking company was the avenue through which 
James B. Eads and his mechanical and financial ability be- 
came known to history and the world. 

It was in these earlier, these minor transactions, that his 
genius and his financial ability were first developed to those 
who were intimately associated with him. This writer calls 
vividly to mind the cold rough morning in ^Nlurch, 1839, when 
young Eads, not out of his teens, stepped on board the old 
steamboat Knickerbocker, laying at the wharf at St. Louis, 
enroute from Cincinnati to *' Galena and Dubuque." 

Under a large circular cape he wore, he exhibited a minia- 
ture steamboat, complete in all its parts, and ready to raise 
steam on a tin boiler, ingeniously and systematically ar- 
ranged . 

He inquired where he could deposit his boat. Being shown 
the second clerk's room, as he had come on board to act in that 
capacity, he established himself and was duly enrolled as one 
of the crew for the then ensuing season. Previous to which 
he had been employed as an errand boy and a boy of all 
work, in the retail dry goods store of Henry During, on 
Main street, between Olive and Locust. 

It was under the counter, in this store, during his leisure 
moments, when his genius developed the perfect specimen of 
a steamboat referred to. 

This was his first practical introduction to the Mississippi 
River, a stream he afterwards became so familiar with. 

After remaining one or two seasons in that capacity, a more 
active field for the development of his genius and ambition 
induced him to associate himself in a salvage company above 
referred to for the purpose of saving property wrecked on 
the Mississippi. 

At the present time, 1889, that industry is not one that would 
have attractions for one of an ordinary ambition, much less 
for one with the towering ambition Capt. Eads possessed. 
But at the time he embarked in it, when it was not an un- 



486 Gould's history of river navigation. 

usual thino; to note the sinking of a steamer with a valuable 
cargo on board in the daily papers, each day in the week, 
during the low water season, and it was conclusive evidence to 
his clear judgment that there was money in the diving bell boat. 

The crude and unwieldy boats at first used presented a 
field for his mechanical genius, which soon resulted in im- 
proved boats, and machinery, commensurate with the rapidly 
increasing demand for their use. But few years was necessary 
to develop an immense collection of working stock, of every 
improved construction and every piece of it bore evidence of 
Ciipt. Eads' genius and master mind. 

The whole culminated in the construction of the Submarine 
No, 7 (which many years later became the powerful gun- 
boat, Benton.) While she was not the last boat the company 
built, and perhaps not the most profitable, she was the most 
expensive to build and to navigate. But for ingenuity of de- 
vise, and concentration of mechanical power, for which she 
was designed, she excelled all predecessors and anything that 
has been constructed since her day. 

But it was not alone in the inception and materializing of this 
■ large and wealthy incorporation, that Captain Eads' genius and 
financial ability was made most prominent. The disposition of 
the stock, just at the moment when the tide of its success was 
about to turn, when its stock was thought to be a profitable 
investment, when all that was known of its value was from 
representations of interested parties, that he induced his 
friends to become interested in the " wrecking company." 
The result of this investment is still fresh in the recollection 
of many of Capt, Eads' contemporaries, as it was the means of 
wn'ccking some of them and in time was itself wrecked a few 
years later from many causes not necessary to enumerate. 

The enterprise and zeal manifested by Capt. Eads in the 
rapid completion of so many gunboats for the government at 
the breaking out of the war was alone sufficient to give him a 
national reputation as one of the master minds in its service, 
and second to none in mechanical ingenuity, and superior to 
all in perseverance. 

The construction of the St. Louis bridge and deepening of 
the channel at the mouth of the Mississippi are monuments to 
his public spirit, to his genius, and above all, to his financial 
ability. 

Whatever credit is due him as an engineer, or for his 
mechanical and inventive genius, all sink into insignificance 
when compared to his ability as a financier. 

Upon that all his success depended. 



CAPT. J. B. EADS' FINANCIAL ABILITY. 487 

His ability to avail himself of the skill, of the experience 
and the brains of all with whom he came in contact, was 
phenomenal and enabled him to succeed in any mechanical 
proposition suggested. 

The very able assistants and engineers he had employed in 
building the St. Louis bridge left him very little to do of the 
detail in construction : but to plan and execute, no man was 
his equal. 

But only from his transcendent ability as ?i financier would 
there have been to this day so splendid a structure at St. Louis 
as the '* Ead's bridge." 

So, too, with the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi. 

No man with less ability as a lobbyist, or with less persever- 
ance, or less knowledge of man and legistators, would have 
ever succeeded in secui'ing the necessary appropriation fordo- 
ing the work, with nearly the entire government force of 
engineers opposed to him and his plans. 

The terms and conditions upon which he contracted to do 
that work were so stringent that not another man in America 
had the financial ability to have raised the means to do the 
work unless he had been a millionaire himself. 

If Capt. Eads had lived, there is but little doubt but what 
he would have built a ship railroad across the Isthmus long 
before De Lessups or any one else would have finished a canal. 
There has never been but one James B. Eads in America. 

By the following extract from the Post, published in San 
Francisco March 12th, 1882, it will be seen that the first 
proposition to build a ship railroad across the isthmus of 
Tehuantepec came from Dr. Wra. F. Channing, several years 
before Capt. Eads undertook the enterprise. 

But genius in this case, as in most others, is of but little 
value without the financial ability to make it available. While 
Capt. Eads had genius in no small degree, his great success 
was achieved from his trancendent financial ability. 

CAPTAIN EADS. 

*' Capt. Eads was a man of remarkable energy and fertility, 
and his work on the Mississippi jetties, if as effective as at 
present it seems to be, will assure him a permanent renown 
among civil engineers. 

He was, indeed, so large a man that there should be no 
temptation for him to wear trophies rightfully belonging to 
another. We allude to the unique project of the Tehuantepec 
Ship Railroad. For years it has been allied with his name, and 



488 Gould's history of river navigation. 

much credit has been awarded to him for the ingenuity which 
the scheme displays, a credit which Capt. Eads did not seem 
to disclaim with much energy. 

Yet, as a matter of fact, the whole conception and device of 
a ship-railway across the isthmus originated in the brain of 
that ingenious man, Dr. William F. Channing, now of Cali- 
fornia. Twelve or fifteen years ago he brought his idea to 
maturity, wrote it out in Washington in an elaborate explan- 
atory pamphlet, illustrated it with excellent cuts, similar in 
scope to those with which the conntry is now familiar, and 
applied to Congress for a charter. He was not able to ex- 
pend upon it the large sums of money required for the devel- 
opment of the enterprise, and on returning to the city later 
discovered that it had found a step-father in Capt. Eads. In 
spite of many protests the thriving infant adopted its step- 
father's name, who spent some hundreds of thousands of 
dollars on its development. 

Captain Eads was before a Senate committee only three 
weeks ago, and his sudden death will seriously affect the 
gigantic project for weddinor the two oceans, with which his 
name became indissolublv connected." 



MARK TWAIN AS A PILOT. 489 

CHAPTER LXY. 

WESTERN RIVER PILOTS. 

WITHOUT presuming to criticise unjustly the occupation 
or cliaracter of any class of men engaged in the navi- 
gation of Western rivers, the importance of the position of 
a pilot will justify the appropriation of one chapter to that 
subject. 

"Mark Twain's " brief experience as a pilot on the Missis- 
sippi, entitles his remarks to some consideration. 

Not that they are always just or truthful. But from his 
standpoint, and the time in which his notes were taken (which 
was several years before he wrote his "Life on the Missis- 
sippi"), strangers are liable to get a false impression of 
the facts. 

True, at the time of his experience steamboating was at the 
height of its prosperit}^ and what seemed to him law, or uni- 
versal custom, was only the result of the then prevailing 
circumstances. 

No wonder he was charmed with the occupation, and 
"loved it better than any profession he has followed since," 
if what he says was true. " The reason is plain, a pilot in 
those days was the only unfettered and entirely independent 
human being that lived on the earth." 

"Kings are but the hampered servants of parliament and 
people — parliaments sit in thrones forged by their constituents. 

"The editor of a newspaper cannot be independent, but 
must work with one hand tied behind him by party and pa- 
trons, and be content to utter only half or two-thirds of 
his mind." 

No clergyman is a free man and may speak the whole truth, 
regardless of his parishioners opinions. Writers of all kinds are 
manacled servants of the public. 

In truth, every man, woman and child has a master, and 
worries and frets in servitude. But in the day I write of, the 
Mississippi pilot had none. ■^ 

The captain could stand upon the hurricane deck in the 
pomp of very brief authority, and give five or six orders 
while the vessel backed into the stream, and then that skipper's 
reign was over. The moment the boat was under way in the 
river, she was under the sole and unquestioned control of the 
pilot. 



490 Gould's history of river navigation. 

He could do with her exactly as he pleased, run her -when 
and whither he chose, and tie her up to the bank whenever 
his judgment said that was best. 

His movements were entirely free. He consulted no one, 
he received commands from nobody ; he promptly resented 
the merest suggestions. Indeed the law of the United States 
forbade him to listen to commands or suggestions, rightly 
considering that the pilot necessarily knew better how to 
handle the boat than any one could tell him. So here was 
the novelty of a king without a keeper, an absolute monarch, 
who was absolute in sober truth, and not by a fiction of words. 
I have seen a boy of 18 years of age taking a great steamer 
serenely into what seemed almost certain destruction, and 
the aged captain standing masterly by, filled with apprehen- 
sion, but powerless to interfere. 

His interference in that particular instance might have been 
an excellent thing, but to permit it would have been to es- 
tablish a most pernicious precedent. It will easily be guessed, 
considering the pilot's boundless authority, that he was a great 
personage in the old steamboating days. He was treated 
with marked courtesy by the captain and with marked defer- 
ence by the officers and the servants, and this deferential 
spirit was quickly communicated to the passengers. By 
long habit, pilots came to put all their wishes in the form of 
commands. It "gravels " me to this day to put my will in 
the shape of a request instead of launching it in the crisp 
language of an order." 

It is very apparent from the foregoing extract, that Mr. 
"Twain" either magnified the authority he possessed as a 
pilot very largely, or that he was fortunate enough to get 
on to boats which were under the control of incompetent milk 
and water masters. Probably both. 

There is no law of Congress, nor never has been, which 
places a river steamboat under the control of a pilot. 

When, from darkness of the night, or from any other cause, 
the pilot considers it dangerous to life to run, he is authorized 
by law to lay the boat up, and then his authority ends. And 
even in such cases, he seldom will exercise that authority 
without consulting the master of the boat. In fact, very few 
pilots care to take the responsibility of laying a boat up, con- 
trary to the judgment and wishes of the master, and are will- 
ing to run when iu their judgment it is not altogether prudent 
to do so if the captain will take the responsibility, which is 
often done. 

There was a short period before the war when pilots were 



$1,800 PER MONTH FOR A PILOT. 491 

in great demand, and a certain class of them took the advan- 
tage of the situation and not only extorted extravagant wages, 
but often made themselves disagreeable by usurping author- 
ity they did not possess. The captain, recognizing his situa- 
tion, yielded temporarily to the necessity. But there was' 
always two sides to that situation aiKl the captain's side was 
sure to win at the end of the trip. 

Good sensible pilots and those who desired to retain the 
respect of their employers and their positions, never assumed 
the authority they did not possess, nor arrogated to them- 
selves the right to command the boat. 

To the few that took Mr. "Twain's" view of it, if the 
effect upon them was, so severe as it was upon him when he 
lost that brief authority, they must have suffered great morti- 
fication, for lo these many years they have often been 
*' graveled " since they have been obliged to " put their will 
in the weak shape of a request instead of launching it in 
the crisp language of an order." 

But to resume the quotation: — 

" Here is a conversation of that day : — 

"A chap out of the Illinois River, with a little stern-wheel 
tub, accosts a couple of ornate and gilded Missouri River 
pilots: 'Gentlemen, I have got a pretty good trip for the 
up country, and shall want you for about a month. How 
much will it be? 

" ' Eighteen hundred dollars a piece? " 

" ' Heavens and earth ! You take my boat, let me have your 
wnges, and I will divide.' " 

I will remark in passing that Mississippi steamboatmen were 
im[)ortant in landsmen's eyes (and in their own, too, in a de- 
gree), according to the dignity of the boat they were on. 

For instance, it was a proud thing to be of the crew of such 
stately craft as the Alex Scott or the Grand Turk. 

Neo-ro firemen, deck hands and barbers belono-inof to those 
boats were distinguished personages in their grade in life, and 
they were well aware of that fact, too. 

A stalwart darkey once gave offense at a negro ball in New 
Orleans by putting on a good many airs. Finally one of the 
managers bristled up to him and said : " Who is you any way? 
"Who is you? dat's what I want to know? " 

The offender was not disconcerted in the least, but swelled 
himself up and threw that into his voice which showed he 
knew was not putting on all those airs on a stinted capital: 
*♦ Who is I? Who is I? I let you know mighty quick who I 



492 Gould's history of river navigation. 

is. I want you niggers to understan' dat I fires de middle do 
(door) on de Alex Scott." 

That was sufficient. 

"My reference a moment ago to the fact that a pilot's' 
.peculiar official position placed him out of the reach of criti- 
cism or command, brings Stephen W naturally to my 

mind. He was a gifted pilot, a good fellow, a tireless talker, 
and had both wit and humor in him. He had a most irrev- 
erent independence, too, aud was deliciously easy-going and 
comfortable in the presence of age, official dignity and even 
the most august wealth. 

He always had work, but never saved a penny. He was the 
most persuasive borrower, he was in debt to every pilot on 
the river, and to the majority of the captains. 

He could throw a sort of splendor around a bit of harum- 
scarum, devil-may-(!are piloting that made it almost fascinat- 
ing — but not to everybody. He made a trip with good old 

Capt. Z once, and vvas relieved from duty when the boat 

got to New Orleans. Some one expressed surprise at the dis- 
charge. Capt. Z almost shuddered at the name of 

Stephen. 

Then his poor thin old voice piped out something like this : 

Why bless me, I would not have such awild creature on 
my boat for the whole world. Not for the whole world. 
He swears, he sings, he whistles, he yells, I never saw such 
an Inirin to yell. All times in the night, it never made any 
difference to him. He would just yell that way, not for any- 
thing in particular, but on account of devilish comfort he 
got out of it. I never could get into a sound sleep, but he 
would fetch me out of bed all in a cold sweat, with one of those 
dreadful war whoops, queer being, very queer being. No 
respect for any thing or any body. Sometimes he called me 
Johney. He kept a fiddle and a cat, he played execrably. 
This seemed to distress the cat, and so the cat would howl. 
No man could sleep where that man and his family was, and 
reckless; there never was any thing like it. Now, you may 
believe it or not, but as sure as I am sitting here, he brought 
my boat down through those awful snags at Chicot, with a 
rattling head of steam, and the wind a blowing like the very 
nation, at that. My officers will tell you so. They saw it, 
and, I tell you, sir, while he was tearing right down through 
those snags, and I a shaking in my shoes, and a praying, I 
wish I may never speak again if he didn't pucker up his mouth 
and go to whistling. Yes, sir; whistling 'Buffalo gals can't 
you come oul to-night, can't you come out to-night, can't you 



BANK FULL IS A PRETTY GOOD STAGE. 493 

come out to niofht,' and doing it as calmly as if we were at- 
tending a funeral and nearest relative to the corpse. And 
when I remonstrated with him about it he smiled down on me 
as if I was a child and told me to run in the house and try to 
be good, and not be meddling with my "superiors." 

Once a pretty mean captain caught Stephen in New Orleans 
out of work and as usual, out of money. He laid steady siege 
to Stephen, who was in a very close place, and finally persuaded 
him to go with him, at $125 per month, just half wages, the 
captain agreeing not to divulge the secret and so bring down 
the contempt of the whole guild upon the poor fellow. But 
the boat was not more than a day out of New Orleans, before 
Stephen discovered that the captain was boasting of his ex- 
ploit and that all the officers had been told. Stephen winced 
but said nothing. 

About the middle of the afternoon the captain stepped out 
on the hurricane deck, cast his eye around and looked a good 
deal surprised. He glanced inquiringly aloft at Stephen, but 
Stephen was whistling placidly, and attending to business. 
The captain stood around ^iwhile in evident discomfort, and 
once or twice seemed about to make a suggestion, but the 
etiquette of the river taught him to avoid such rashness, and 
so he managed to hold his peace. He chafed and puzzled a 
few moments then returned to his apartments. 

But soon he was out again and ai)i)arently more perplexed 
than ever. Presently he ventured to remark with reverence, 
♦' Pretty good stage of the river now, is it not, sir?" " Well, 
I should say so. Bank full is' a pretty good stage." *' Seems 
to be a good deal of current here." " Good deal don't de- 
scribe it. It is worse than a mill race." " Is it not easier in 
near shore than it is out here in the middle?" " Yes, I reck- 
on it is, but a person can't be too careful with a steamboat. 
It is pretty safe out here; can't strike any bottom here, you 
can depend on that," The captain departed looking rueful 
enough. At this rate he would probably die of old age before 
getting his boat to St. Louis. Next day he appeared on deck 
again, found Stephen standing faithfully out in the middle of 
the river, fighting the whole force of the Mississippi River and 
whistling the same old tune in the same place and manner. 
This thing was becoming serious. In shore was a slower Ijoat 
shpping along in the easy water gaining steadily. She be- 
gan to make for an island chute ; Stephen stuck to the middle 
of the river. Speech was moving from the captain. He said, 

" Mr. W , don't that chute cut off a good deal of distance?" 

"I think it does, but I don't know." ^" Don't know 1 Well, 



494 Gould's history of river navigation. 

isn't there water enough to go through?" " lexpect there is, 
but I am not certain." " Upon my word this is odd ! Why 
those pilots on that boat are going to try it. Do you mean to 
say you do not know as much as they do?" " They ! why, 
they are $250 pilots. But don't you be uneasy, I know as 
much as any man can afford to know for $125." The captain 
surrendered. Five minutes later, Stephen was bowling through 
the chute and sliowing the rival boat a two hundred and fifty 
dollar pair of heels. 

" Most of the pilots and the captains held Stephen's note 
for borrowed sums ranging from $250 upward. Stephen 
never paid one of these notes, but he was very prompt and 
very zealous about renewing them every twelve months. 

Of course, there came a time at last when Stephen could 
not borrow of his ancient creditors. So he was obliged to 
lay in wait for new men, who did not know him. Such a 
victim was good, simple-natured young Yates. I use a ficti- 
tious name. But the real name began as this one with a (Y). 
Young Yates graduated as a pilot, got a berth, and when the 
month was ended he stepped to the clerk's office and got $250 
in crisp new bills. 

Stephen was there. His silvery tongue began to wag, and 
in a very little while Yates' $250 had changed hands. 

The fact was soon known at pilot headquarters, and the 
amusement and satisfaction of the old creditors were large 
and generous. But innocent Yates never suspected that 
Stephen's promise to pay promptly at the end of the week was 
a worthless one. 

Yates called for his money at the stipulated time. Stephen 
sweetened him up and put him off another week. He called 
then, according to agreement, and came away sugar-coated, but 
suffering under another postponement. 

Yates haunted Stephen from week to week to no purpose, 
and at last gave it up. And then, straightway, Stephen be- 
gan to hunt Yates. Wherever Yates appeared there was the 
inevitable Stephen. By and by, whenever Yates saw 
Stephen coming, he would turn and fly, and drag his com- 
panion with him if he had company. But it was no use. His 
debtor would run him down and corner him. 

Panting and red-faced Stephen would come with out- 
stretched hands and eager eyes, would invade the conversa- 
tion, shake both of Yates' arms lose in their sockets — and 
begin, "My, what a race I have had. I saw you didn't see 
me, and so I clapped on all steam for fear I would miss you 
entirely; and here you are I There, just stand so, and let me 



STEPHEN LEANING AGAINST A HOUSE CRYING. 495 

look at you. Just the same old noble countenance ; (to Yates' 
friend). Isn't it? Just look at him. Ain't it just good to 
look at him ! ain't it now? Ain't he just a picture? Some 
call him a picture. I call him a panorama ! That's what he 
is; an entire panorama. And now I am reminded; howl 
do wish I could have seen you an hour earlier. 

For twenty-four hours I have been saving up that $250 for 
you, been looking for you every where. I waited at the 
Planters' House from six yesterday evening till two o'clock 
this morning, without rest or food. My wife says, Where have 
you been all night? I said this debt lies heavy on my mind. 
She says in all my life I never saw a man take a debt to heart 
the way you do. I said it is my nature, how can I change 
it? She says, Do go to bed and get some rest. I said, not 
till that poor, noble young man gets his money. So I set up 
all night and this morning out I put and the first man I 
struck told me you had shipped on the " Grand Turk " and 
had gone to New Orleans. Well, sir, I had to lean up against 
a building, I was so sick, and began to cry. So help me 
goodness, I could not help it. The man that owned the 
place came out, cleaning up with a rag, and said he didn't 
like to have people cry against his building, and then it seemed 
to me as if the whole world had turned against me, and it 
wasn't any use to live any more and coming along an hour ago 
suffering, no man knows what agony, I met John Wilson 
and paid him the $250 on account, and to think that here 
you are now, and I haven't got a cent ! And as sure as I am 
standing here on this ground, on this particular brick — there 
I have scratched a mark on the brick to remember it by — I'll 
borrow that money and pay it over to you at twelve o'clock 
sharp, to-morrow 1 Now, stand so, let me look at you just 
once more." 

Bogart's saloon was a great resort for pilots in those days. 

They met there about as much to exchange river news as to 
play. One morning Yates was there, Stephen was there too, 
but kept out of sight. By-and-by when about all the pilots 
had arrived who were in town, Stephen suddenly arrived in 
the midst, and rushed for Yates as for a long- lost brother. 
0/i, I am so glad to see you. Oh, on my soul, the sight of 
you is such a comfort to my eyes ! 

*' Gentlemen, I owe all of you money. Among you I owe 
probably forty thousand dollars. I want to pay it, I intend 
to pay it, every last cent of it. You all know without my 
telling you, what sorrow it has cost me to remain so long 
under such obligations to such patient, to such generous 



496 Gould's history of river navigation. 

friends. But the sharpest pang I suffer — by far the sharp- 
est — is the debt I owe to this noble young man here, and I have 
come to this place especially this morning to make this an- 
nouncement, that I have at last found a method whereby I 
can pay off all my debts, and most especially I wanted him 
to be here when I announced it. 

** Yes, my faithful friend, my benefactor, I have found the 
method ! I have found the method to pay off all my debts, 
and you will get your money." 

Hope dawned in Yates' eyes. Then Stephen beaming be- 
nignantly, and placing, his hand on Yates' head added; — 

" I am going to pay them off in alphabetical order." Then 
he turned and disappeared. 

The full significance of Stephen's method did not dawn 
upon the perplexed and amused crowd for some two minutes. 
Then Yates murmured with a sigh : — 

" Well, the Y's stand a gaudy chance. He won't get any 
further than the Cs in this world, and I reckon after a good 
deal of eternity has wasted away in the next one, I will still 
be referred to up there, as ' that poor, ragged pilot that came 
here from St. Louis in the early days.' " 

These fictitious names that are introduced by *' Mark 
Twain " in the foregoing quotations from his life on the 
Mississippi, so clearly illustrate the character of individuals 
who most boatmen in the St. Louis and New Orleans trade 
will recognize, that the}^ are quoted more to show the genius 
of Mr. Twain as an inimitable burlesque writer than for the 
literal occurrences, as claimed by him. These peculiar char- 
acters are not alone found on steamboats, but in every walk 
in life, and many persons will call to mind a Stephen, more 
familiarly known as a " dead beat." 

The cases referred to are clearly taken from real life, 
although slightly embellished, and will be painfully recognized 
by some confiding Yates. 



TOW-BOATS. 497 

CHAPTEK LXYI. 

PITTSBURGH COAL TRADE IN 1835. 

^' TOURING the week which followed the rise in the river 
-'->' ill the middle of November last, there was sent from 
the landing on the opposite side of the Monongahela river, 
from Jones ferry to Saw Mill farm, about 75 boat loads of 
coal — carrying 245,000 bushels. Boats and cargoes valued 
at $18,000. About the same quantity came down from the 
country along the Monongahela. The total value of coal 
annually shipped south from the Monongahela and from the 
mines opposite Pittsburgh may be estimated at about $100,- 
OOO." 

COAL TOWING AND COAL TRADE. 

In the New Orleans Times- Democrat of 1883 the followins: 
mterestmg account of moving, towing and floating coal on the 
Ohio and Mississippi rivers is given : — 

THE JOSEPH B. WILLIAMS HER CHAMPION TOW AND OTHER 

INTERESTING DATA IN CONNECTION THEREWITH. 

" The Joseph B. Williams, that arrived at Bayou Sara a few 
days ago and turned back up the river from that point, brought 
from the Ohio the largest tow ever handled by a towboat. 
Her tow consisted of eight boats and one barge of coal, left at 
the mouth of Red River ; 25 boats of coal for Bayou Sara — 
in all 700,000 bushels; a barge of hay, and a barge of fuel; 
the total tonnage of which — coal, hay and fuel — amounted to 
30,000 tons. An idea of the magnitude of this cargo can be 
had when we state that, if sent by railroad, 2,000 cars would 
be required for its transportation; that would take &Q engines 
to haul, and which, if hitched together in one continuous 
train, would extend a distance of twelve miles. If the coal 
was heaped in a pile, it would cover a space 300 feet square 
and eleven feet high. The Joseph B. Williams has been dis- 
tinguished for being the largest and most powerful towboat 
ever built, and for handling successfully great tows. On her 
last trip up she made the run from Helena to Memphis in the 
remarkable time of four hours thirteen and a half minutes, 
the fastest ever made, and now she has topped the pinnacle 
of her fame by bringing down the river the greatest of tows. 
The coal brought by the Williams belongs to" the Grand Lake 

32 



498 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Coal Company, for which Messrs. Desforges, Montaguet & 
Co., of this city, are the agents. In connection with this 
same subject we present some facts about coal that will prove 
interesting : — 

THE EARLY HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF COAL 

is very obscure. It appears to have been used by the ancients 
to a limited extent. The American Cyclopaedia says : " The 
first notice we find in official records of the development of 
coal in England — the first country in which the mining of 
coal became a commercial industry — is the receipt of twelve 
cart-loads of ' fossil fuel ' by the Abbey of Peterborough in 
850. The first evidence, however, of regular mining opera- 
tions is found in the books of the Bishop of Durham, by 
whom, in 1180, several leases were issued for mining ' pit 
coal,' a term since common among the English miners and 
writers on coal." 

THE FIRST MINING AND USE OF COAL IN THE WEST, 

of which we have record, was in 1811, and is as follows: — 

The attention of Robert Fulton and his friend. Chancellor 
Livingston, after their great success upon the Hudson River, 
was turned toward the great rivers of the West — the Ohio 
and Mississippi — and in April of this year (1811) they made 
an arrangement with Mr. Roosvelt, of New York, to visit 
these rivers and make an exploration of them for the purpose 
of forming an opinion whether they admitted of steamboat 
navigation or not. 

Mr. Roosvelt surveyed the rivers from Pittsburgh to New 
Orleans, and his report being favorable it was decided to 
build a steamboat at this time. This was done under the 
direction and superintendence of Mr. Roosvelt, and in the 
course of the year 1811 the first boat was launched on the Ohio. 
It was called the New Orleans and intended to ply between 
the city of Natchez and the city of New Orleans. In the month 
of October it left Pittsburgh upon its experimental voyage. 

Upon his first voyage of exploration Mr. Roosvelt had dis- 
covered two beds of coal about 120 miles below the falls of 
the Ohio. He took with him upon this second voyage tools 
and implements to work the coal mines, intending to take 
enough to make the downward voyage. 

The first coal fleet to descend the Mississippi on record was 
that of two flats in 1829. The coal was mined at Bon Har- 
bor, three miles below Owensboro, Ky., and was shipped in 
two flats eighty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and loaded to 



FIRST COAL TOWED TO NEW ORLEAXS. 499 

draw four feet. This coal was sold to the Labranche sugar 
plantation in this State, just this side of the Red Church. 
One of the men who helped to build these flats, load the coal 
and boat it to its destination, was Capt. George (Natural) 
Miller, now running the Saline to Boeuf River. 

The first coal to arrive in this city in tow of a steamboat 
was in February, 1854, and the following mention was made 
of its arrival by a paper published in this city at that time : 
" The towboat Crescent City, Capt. Cochran, arrived on Wed- 
nesday, the 1st, from Pittsburg, with three barges coal, and 
one barge coke, in all 64,000 bushels. The Crescent City be- 
longs to Mr. George Leadlie, of Pittsburgh, and is consigned to 
Mr. C. A. Miltenberger. She brings the first coal ever towed 
to this market, and will easily bring eight barges on a trip." 

SECOND TOW-BOAT WITH COAL AT NEW ORLEANS. 

The second tow to arrive here was ten barges of about 
100,000 bushels, brought by the towboat James Guthrie, in 
April, 1854. The Guthrie was owned by Simpson Hornor 

and Hyatt, of Pittsburgh, and came through with her 

tow from Louisville in four days. 

A statement before us, published in Pittsburgh, reports that, 
"During the week which followed the rise of the river in No- 
vember (1834) there was sent from the landing on the oppo- 
site side of the Monongahela River from Jones' Ferry to Saw 
Mill Run about seventy-five boats, carrying 245,000 bushels 
of coal. About the same amount passed down from the 
country along the Monongahela above Pittsburgh. The total 
value of coal from the banks around Pittsburgh may be esti- 
mated at about $100,000. It is rapidly increasing in amount 
as it becomes more generally used upon the lower rivers." 

Some idea of how rapidly the consumption of coal has in- 
creased, as above predicted, forty-nine years ago, may be had 
from the following paragraph from a recent coal statement 
published at Pittsburgh, (May 5, 1883) : " One thing is very 
certain, at the present rate of export the day will come when 
Pittsburgh will have to shut down on such heavy shipments if 
we intend to retain our place as a cheap manufacturing center." 

In 1869 the coal shipments from Pittsburg amounted to 
4,670,000 bushels; this year, up to the present day, over 
25,000,000 bushels have been shipped." 

Respecting the recent coal run from Pittsburgh the Commer- 
cial-Gazette of the 13th gives some facts that speak eloquently 
of the great facility and economy of river in contradistinction 
to rail transportation. 



500 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The first of the run of the 10,000,000 bushels of coal com- 
inof out on the recent rise in the river will arrive this evenin^o'. 
and the coal fleet will be arriving and passing for two or three 
days. About one-third of it is intended for this market; the 
balance goes to points below. This immense amount of coal, 
because of the fact that it cannot come in advance of the rise 
in the river, will be about one week making the voyage from 
Pittsburgh to Cincinnati. When there is abundant water all 
the way the voyage is usually made in about four days. 

In these 10,000,000 bushels there are 360,000 tons. If it 
were piled up on the square bounded by Fourth, Vine, Fifth 
and Race streets, it would be a fraction over ninety-seven feet 
hiofh or seven feet hiofher than the Commercial- Gazette office. 
It would cover an area of fifty acres, by many considered a 
fair sized farm — eight feet deep. 

handling coal by rail and water. 

A comparison of the facility and cost of transportation of 
such a mass, as between the river and rail, presents not only 
some interesting, but surprising results. The average coal 
car carries fifteen tons, so that it would require 24,000 cars 
to transport this 360,000 tons. Twenty-two cars, each laden 
with fifteen tons, is the full capacity of the average freight 
locomotive, so that 1,091 trains would be necessary. The 
cars average in length thirty feet, and with the locomotive 
and a caboose, each train of twenty-two cars would be 700 
feet long. The 1,091 trains, placed close one after the other, 
would make a line of 144 miles, which is only eight miles 
less than one-half the distance between Cincinnati and Pitts- 
burgh by the Panhandle road. 

The Panhandle road changes its freight locomotives at Den- 
nison and Columbus, so thnt three locomotives are used in the 
trip between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. This would make 
necessary 3,273 changes of locomotives to haul the 1,091 
trains. The Panhandle road could probably send twenty 
coal trains over its road daily if they were loaded and ready 
to be started, though it would take thirty-six hours for each 
train to pass between the two cities. It would take fifty-five 
days, upon this estimate, to bring as much coal to the city as 
is now coming on this rise. 

The cost of towing this 10,000,000 bushels of coal to this 
city will not exceed $125,000. One cent per ton per mile is 
considered as low as railroads can afford to carry freight. The 
distance between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati by rail is 313 miles. 
Suppose coal could be carried at three-fourths of one cent per 



FIFTEEN THOUSAND SQUARE MILES OF COAL. 501 

ton per mile, each ton would cost $2.35, and the 860,000 tons 
■<ould cost $846,000, or $721,000 more than the cost by 
liver — nearly seven times as much. 

THE COAL TRADE. 

"A writer upon the subject estimates that the bituminous 
coal field by which Pittsburgh is closely surrounded and from 
Avhich her gigantic coal traffic is derived is equal to 15,000 
square miles, and its raonev value at five cents per bushel 
is nearly $75,000,000,000; and that $75,000,000 worth 
could be realized from sales of this coal annually for a thou- 
sand years, and then only exhaust the upper seam of the 
measures. 

In 1817 the transportation of coal in flat-boats down the 
Ohio river from Pittsburgh was begun from French Creek, 
where the mines were then located. These boats were load- 
ed with from 4,000 to 6,000 bushels, lashed in pairs with ropes, 
and floated as far down as Cincinnati under charge of a crew 
of five men. 

With the increase of trade and the development of the coal 
lands along the Monongahela River this method of floating the 
product to an equally growing market became too slow and 
inadequate, and the application of steam for towing purposes 
was made. The history of this enterprise has been admirably 
told by Colonel Thurst<jn, one of the best informed citizens of 
Pittsburgh on all important commercial events in which the 
city has been concerned during her Avonderful career. He 
says: 

"The writer recollects well how the proposition to tow the 
unwieldy ' French Creeks ' was received by the coal boatmen 
and was ridiculed. The term ' crank ' had not then been coin- 
ed, but those who talked of towing coal as a feasible thing 
were at that day spoken of as such under a more common 
name, and conservative business men shook their heads wisely 
and smiled dubiously. As the coal boats had to be floated to 
market on flood waters, it did, to those acquainted with the 
rapid currents of the Ohio in the spring and fall rises and the 
June freshets, seem a dangerous business to attempt to tow 
those huge unwieldy bulks of coal in flat-bottomed, box- 
shaped boats through the crooked channel and sharp bends of 
the river. But in 1845 Daniel Bushnell began towing coal 
down the Ohio with a small stern-wheel boat called the Wal- 
ter Forward, making a trip to Cincinnati as an experiment 
with three coal-flats loaded with 2,000 bushels each. In the 



502 Gould's history of river navigation. 

same vear Judo^e Thomas H. Baird beffaii towinof coal to Hans;- 
ing Rock, Ohio, with a side-wheel boat called the Harlem and 
two ' model ' barges, bringing back pig metal. In the fall of 
1849 Hugh Smith began to tow coal to the lower markets with 
the steam tow-boat Lake Erie. During 1849 David Bushnell 
built the Black Diamond tow-boat to tow coal to Cincinnati 
and to New Orleans in 1850, from which date towing coal, 
as it was called, superseded altogether the floating system. 

THE WALTER FORWARD FIRST COAL TOW-BOAT. 

" The term ' towing ' is a misnomer, as the boats and barges 
containing the coal are propelled instead of towed. Although 
this is an old song to Pittsburghers and many along the river, 
yet to others it may not be uninteresting to be told that a tow, 
as it is called, is made up of one tow-boat and from ten to 
fourteen barges, coal boats and flats, and from one to four fuel 
boats flUed with slack coal for boiler fuel during the trip. 
These boats are all placed in front of the tow-boat, except one 
on each side of the steamer, all securely lashed together, 
forming a compact mass about 350 feet long and 150 feet 
wide, and holding from 500,000 to 700,000 bushels, or about 
an average of 24,000 tons, being the yield of from five to seven 
acres of coal land, according to the size of the tow, so called. 
Of such tows from eight to ten in a day in the coal-boating 
stages of the Ohio leave the harbor of Pittsburgh for all points 
below as far as New Orleans, and there are now from ninety 
to one hundred tow-boats, varying in cost from $8,000 to 
$30,000, employed in thus propelling coal, being the outgrowth 
in forty years from the little Walter Forward with her three 
flat-boats, holding 6,000 bushels, or about 240 tons of coal. 
As explanatory to those who are not familiar with the terms 
of ' barge,' ' coal-boat ' ' flat,' being the ' packages,' as the 
trade term is, in which the coal is carried, a word or two of 
description of these ' packages ' may be of interest. Coal 
boats are built 170 feet long by 26 feet wide, of 1 1-2 inch 
plank, with about 18 inches rake at each end. They carry 
24,000 bushels and draw 7 feet when loaded. They are only 
used to convey the coal to its point of destination, and go 
with the coal in the sale. They cost about $600 each. 
A barge is 130 feet long by 25 feet wide, constructed some- 
what similar to the hull of a steam boat, but with stern and prow 
alike, having bottom planking of 3-inch thickness and gan- 
wales 6 inches. The loading capacity of barges is about 13,- 
000 bushels, and they draw 6 feet water when loaded. They 



EXPERT BOATMEN IN THE COAL TRADE. 503 

cost from $1,000 to $1,100, and last from nine to ten years, 
being towed back from the point where the coal is sold, going 
by the technical terra of ' empties ' on the return trip. Fuel 
boats are similar to barges, only smaller, being 95 by 20 feet, 
and draw 4 feet water loaded. They cost $600, and will last 
ten years in service, and carry 7,000 bushels. Flats are 90 
by li5 feet, built same as barges, carry 4,000 bushels, and 
<lraw loaded 4 1-4 feet water, costing about $400. 

'*A tow of coal made up of these various descriptions of 
boats to the number, as before stated, of eighteen barges, 
coal-boats and flats, with the tow-boat, and loaded with the 
average of 600,000 bushels, or 24,000 tons coal, represents a 
value of $80,000 as it leaves the harbor at Pittsburgh. As be- 
fore stated, eight or ten of such massive islands, as it were, of 
coal, equal in surface to 1 1-4 acres, floating the coal product 
of from 6 to 7 acres of coal land, depart in the boating stages 
of the Ohio from Pittsburgh. The ' driving,' for such it al- 
most seems to be, in its handling by the deft pilot, who with 
sinewy arms whirls and rewhirls the wheel that guides the 
boat and this mass of coal, is a task to which only those 
brought up to the trade are competent. Skill, judgment, 
nerve are all called into play as this ponderous bulk, borne 
along on a river at flood height, running at a current of 8 to 
10 miles an hour, sweeps onward. Through narrow channels, 
round sharp bends, between the stone piers of bridges, where 
a misturn of the wheel, a failure of judgment, a miscalcula- 
tion of distance means disaster and wreck, the pilot guides the 
tow, now backing, now flanking, now pushing, now floating, 
watchful and cool the pilot does his work. There is probably 
no such boatsmanship shown anywhere else in the world as is 
displayed by the Pittsburgh coal tow-boat pilot. Watching one 
of these ponderous tows surging down the river with the lit- 
tle tow-boat of perhaps 90 to 100 feet in length and 20 to 25 
feet in width at its rear, turning it round bends, flanking it 
past points, backing and checking it in narrow channels, one 
can but think of the old joke of the tail wagging the dog, and 
here it does it, and does it well. It is a wonderful exhibit of 
skillful navigation, and thus handling by the nervy grip of 
one man on a wheel a bulk of 30,000 tons, moving at a speed 
of from 12 to 15 miles an hour down such a tortuous stream 
as the Ohio, and with perhaps not 5 feet to spare of channel 
width or 2 feet of water depth." 

The coal thus transported down the>iver from Pittsburgh is 
almost wholly drawn from the four "pools" of the Mononga- 
hela river that are stocked by fifty-nine firms of operators, 



504 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



employing the services of 8,860 hands, at annual wages aver- 
aging $3,177,000, and producing an output averaging 98,- 
580,000 bushels per year. 

These figures are not precise, of course, being subject to 
the very important disturbing elements of "strikes," unre- 
munerative markets and difficulties in running coal caused by 
low stages of water in the river ; but the amounts stated form 
a fair average for the operations of a good season when the 
mines are productive up to their ordinary capacity. 

The amounts passing the locks of the Monongahela Nav- 
igation Company represents the totals taken out of that 
stream and actually consumed in Pittsburgh and shipped to- 
markets along the Ohio River and below. The following are 
statistics from the records of the company named: — 

STATEMENT, IN BUSHELS OF COAL AND SLACK SHIPPED FROM 
THE SEVERAL POOLS OF THE MONONGAHELA SLACK-WATER 
ANNUALLY FOR THE YEARS NAMED. 



Year. 



1844. 

1845 . 

1846 

1847 

1848 . 

1849 

1850 . 

1851 

1852 . 

1853. 

1854 

1855. 

1856 , 

1657 

1858 



BasbelB. 



Year. 



1859 

1860 , 

1861 

1862. 

1863 . 

186-1 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868, 

1869 

1870 . 

1871. 

1872 . 

1873, 



Bushels. 



28,286 
37,947 
20,865 
18,583 
26,444 
35,070 
39,522 
42,615 
30,072, 
45,301, 
52,512! 
57,596 
48,621. 
54,208, 
58,276. 



Year. 



1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 , 

1883 

1884. 

1885 

1886 



Bushels. 



Total 



67,821,200 

63,707.500 

68,481,000 

79,480,918 

76,825,255 

65,588.000 

84,048,350 

86,254,660 

101,434,700 

108,487,800 

79,269,100 

82,459,050 

109,895,147 

1,869,960,776 



In addition to the coal produced along the Monongahela and 
handled by water, the collieries along the railways diverging 
from Pittsburgh produce nearly 150,000,000 bushels in every 
ordinary year, of which 60 per cent, is probably consumed 
by Pittsburgh, and the remainder is shipped by rail directly 
from the mines to interior Western markets. There are no 
official statistics of the consumption of coal in Pittsburgh, so 
that it is impossible to state with precision what proportion of 
the total outputs of the mines goes to other markets. 

Concerning the effect of introducing natural gas as a man- 
ufacturing fuel. Colonel Thurston, above quoted as an intel- 
ligent writer, while on the subject of coal in connection with 
Pittsburgh's industrial resources, has to say : — 

" At first it would seem to threaten a decadence of the coal 



COST OF TRANSPORTING COAL. 505 

trade. But it is not unlikely it may increase the consumption 
of coal and thus even enhance the value of coal lands around 
Pittsburgh and the returns therefrom. While natural gas has 
almost entirely supplanted coal as a manufacturing fuel at 
Pittsburgh, this is possibly only a forerunner of a greater use 
of coal. The advantage in thus using gas is so great that even 
were the supply of natural gas to fail, the commercial manu- 
facturing world would still require gas fuel from coal and 
preclude the return to crude coal heat. Ignoring the ques- 
tion of cheapness of gas over coal where the consumption is 
made at or in the near adjacencies to the well, the other ad- 
vantages of gas fuel already established would enforce its use 
under a similarity of cost. The use of gas, whether of na- 
ture's production or from artificial supply, being primary, its 
obtainment from such material as will produce it most satis- 
factory in all respects follows. Of all substances bituminous 
coal, and of all coals that of the Pittsburgh seam, is pre-emi- 
nent. If artificial gas is to be had, the best quality and at the 
least cost is imperative. Where the gas is not in a vicinage 
artificial methods of conducting it there will be tried. At 
present the means of piping natural gas long distances are not 
economical, and its natural progress of flow seems limited, 
the appliances of artificial propulsion so far seeming to add 
so much to its cost as to overcome its desirability over coal 
fuel. 

" The transportation of coal and its cost are fixed commercial 
facts. Where manufacturing facilities exist coal can easily be 
laid down in proximity to the fires to be fed. The coal of 
the Pittsburgh seam can therefore be made easily available at 
whatever point manufacturing fuel is demanded, and the great 
storage of the gas therein, cheaply transported, unlocked and 
used, while the coal fuel in form of coke, of a value quite 
equal to the coal, remains for other fuel uses, not to take into 
account other products which result from the distillation of 
coal for the production of gas. Of these latter there are a 
number ; and skillful chemical handling and economical 
management would evolve other marketable residuums. It 
is, therefore, very probable that while the use of natural gas 
may decrease the consumption of coal at Pittsburgh, it will in- 
crease it in other localities, and the coal seams of Pittsburgh 
be more than ever valuable. For the carriage of coal, water 
highways are the cheapest, and the unsurpassed system of 
rivers by which the coal ti'ade of Pittsburgh reaches the West 
and South is unrivaled, even enabling, when tonnage is wanted 
in interiors where the rivers do not reach, long distances of 



506 Gould's history of river navigation. 

railway transportation to be cut off, and such carriage re- 
duced to short hauls." 

THE COKE TRADE. 

The coke business of Pittsburgh depends for its supplies 
upon the Connellsville region, as only a small amount of this 
article is produced in the city itself. All the great coke com- 
panies have their principal oflSces here, however, and their 
financial transactions make no unimportant part of the daily 
clearing-house returns. The Connellsville coke has made 
Pittsburgh manufacturers what they are, and the product is in 
demand all over the United States where metal working or 
smelting is engaged in. 

The first market consignment of this coke to a distance was 
made in 1842, when two boat-loads, aggregating 1,600 bush- 
els, were taken to Cincinnati. Since then the business has 
absorbed nearly $7,000,000 in plants alone, and the annual 
product taken by the general market will now average over 
4,000,000 tons. Specifically the business engages 77 separate 
firms and corporations, representing 10,788 ovens, consuming 
annually in average years 180,000,000 bushels of coal, or 
7,500,000 tons, and the wages disbursed amount to over $4,000,- 
000 annually. The value of the product varies, like any other 
stable commodity, with the current market price,but a safe esti- 
mate of value for each year's output would be $6,000,000. 

In summing up these subjects of coal and coke, and they 
should be mentioned together since the cokeries mine their own 
coal, there are, in all the divisions of the business, 204 coller- 
ies, employing 27,680 hands, at wages amounting yearly to $11,- 
150,000 ; the value of improvements, exclusive of cost of coal 
lands, is $12,000,000, and the sales reach about $25,000,000 on 
on the 430,000,000 bushels, or 17,200,000tons mined annually. 

Of this enormous aggregate fully 40 per cent, finds a mar- 
ket through the medium of the river transportation lines far 
more cheaply than would otherwise be possible. 

THE RIVER INTERESTS. 

Upon this material subject, as related to Pittsburgh trad e, 
Superintendent Follansbee, the chief executive officer of the 
Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce says : — 

*' Steam towing on the rivers of the United States has been 
very largely the means of resuscitating the river trade, threat- 
ened with almost extinction by the construction of railroads. 
By it Pittsburgh has sent forth hundreds of millions of tons of 
coal, iron, and general merchandise throughout theentireOhio 



STEAMBOATS AND BARGES OWNED AT PITTSBURGH. 507 

and Mississippi Valleys. Her position in commerce has thus 
been maintained and an economic check imposed upon the trans- 
portation charges in this vast territory of paramount influence." 

As an example of what is claimed, Mr. FoUansbee cites the 
trip made in February, 1882, by the steamer Jos. B. Williams, 
that left Louisville for New Orleans with a tow of 26 coal- 
boats and barges, containing 600,000 bushels of coal, or 22,- 
800 tons, a load far greater than any ever carried by the Great 
Eastern and without parallel in the transportation annals of any 
country. The charges for carriage of this immense tonnage 
from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, a distance of 2,000 miles, 
were at the rate of 4 cents per bushel, or one-twentieth of 1 
cent per ton per mile, a freight rate that, as the writer re- 
marks, " would bankrupt any railroad in the United States." 

In 1881 the boating interests of Pittsburgh were represented 

as follows : — 

Tons. 

163 steam passenger and tow boats 36,846 

45 model barges 16,243 

1 ,500 coal-barges ) 

500 coal-boats \ 1 ,306,884 

1,000 coal-flats J 

3,208 vessels, with tonnage of 1,359,972 

Capital invested $7,447,000 

Hands employed 3,260 

Freight earnings during the year $2,400,000 

Since the year named, with the exception noted below, 
when the above statistics were gathered for a special report, 
no precise figures have been preserved or are now attainable, 
and reference is directed to the port list of boats at Pittsburgh 
for the year 1866 for later figures, although the Government 
does not include in its port registers the barges, boats, and 
flats used in the carrying trade. An estimate made in 1884, 
however, places the tonnage of Pittsburgh in this latter class 
at 2,000 barges, 60 model barges, 1,200 coal-boats, and 900 
flats, valued at about $7,000,000. These figures will not, it 
is believed, vary much from the present tonnage of these 
transports. In this year above given (1884) the port list of 
Pittsburgh shows 163 steam vessels registered, having a total 
tonnage of 32,914.07, employing a capital of $9,740,000, 
3,500 hands, and producing revenues from freights amount- 
ing to about $3,000,000. 

The completion of the Davis Island Dam, at Pittsburgh, 
will add greatly to the harbor facilities of the city. This 
work has cost the United States Government nearly $1,000,- 
000, and furnishes a pool 7 feet deep, covering an area of 



508 Gould's history of eiver navigation. 

1.62 square miles, sufficient for the harborage of over 12,000 
steamboats and barges. The lock length of this dam is 600 
feet, with a width of 110 feet, thus making it the largest and 
longest lock in the world. 

From the date of the construction of the New Orleans, in 
1811 up to the present, steamboat building has been an im- 
portant feature in Pittsburgh's industrial career. It is esti- 
mated that one complete steamer has been turned out from 
her shops and boat-yards weekly for more than a quarter of a 
century, beginning with the year 1842. During this period 
not only have a number of iron and steel steamers of light 
draught been built for foreign river navigation, but fully one- 
half of the steam fleet navigatino; Western waters has been 
constructed here. Steamboats for general freight and pas- 
senger service are turned out at these yards requiring only a 
draught of 2 feet, with a tonnage capacity enabling owners to 
make handsome profits at half the tolls customarily charged 
upon railroads for like service. 

For Pittsburgh alone it is estimated that the average ton- 
nage to the account of each steamer conveying coal and cok© 
in tows is 5,500 per half trip. 

REPORT from chamber OF COMMERCE. 

Approaching the subject of Pittsburgh's carrying trade by- 
river and rail, any full statement of tonnage, claisification,. 
and direction of shipments for a series of years is found to be 
well-nigh impracticable, owing to the lack of procurable defi- 
nite data. The only statement pretending to accuracy or 
official character is that made for the year 1881 by Superin- 
tendent Folhmsbee, of the Chamber of Commerce of Pitts- 
burgh, in a report upon the " Commerce, Industrial and 
Transportation interests of the city of Pittsburgh," published 
as an appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of 
Statistics, Treasury Department, on the internal commerce of 
the United States in December, 1882. 
Mr. FoUansbee says : — 

" The shipments from this city to points below, reaching 
as far South as New Orleans, for the year 1881, we find to be : 

Tons. 

Coal and coke, 75,000,000 bushels, or 2,884,610 

Shipped by Saint Louis lines: 

Steel rails 56,576 

Bar-iron, sheet-iron, splices, glassware, etc 18,827 

75,403 

By Cincinnati, Portsmouth and Louisville boats : 

Shipments composed principally of iron, steel, nails, 
window-glass, glass-ware, plows, etc 33,750 



BEACON LIGHT STATIONS. 509 

CHAPTER LXYII. 

BEACON LIGHT SERVICE ON WESTERN RIVERS. 

BY an act of Congress approved June 23d, 1874, the juris- 
diction of the Light House Board was extended over 
the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers, for the establishment 
of such " Beacon Lights, " day beacons and buoys as may be 
necessary for the use of vessels navigating those streams. 

The rivers were divided in two districts. The 14th, from 
Pittsburgh, Pa., to New Orleans. The 15th, from St. Paul, 
Minn., to Cairo, 111., and Missouri River from Kansas City to 
its mouth. The first beacon established on the Mississippi 
River was on the dike below River Des Peres on December 
4th, 1874. The work in the 15th district was then in charge 
of Commander R. R. Wallace, U. S. N. The 14th district 
was in charge of Commander Jos. Fyffe, U. S. N. 

The work in the 15th district coming more directly under 
the observation of the writer can say without any disparage- 
ment to other inspectors that, after numerous experiments, 
aided by the advice of masters and pilots generally, Com- 
mander Wallace soon overcame the diflScuJties of this new 
work and had his most important aid to navigation fully rec- 
ognized as invaluable. 

On April 1st, 1876, the boundaries of the two river districts 
were changed. The 14th, from Cairo, 111., to Pittsburgh. 
The 15th, from St. Paul to New Orleans, including the Mis- 
souri river. On January 1st, 1887, owing to the great increase 
of the number of light stations the 16th district was formed 
by dividing the 15th. The territory of the 16th being from 
Cairo, 111., to New Orleans. 

Since 1874 there has been added the Great Kanawha, Ten- 
nessee, Illinois and mouth of Red River, all of which are now 
well lighted. 

The number of stations in the different streams are as fol- 
lows : — 

Mississippi River from St. Paul to Cairo 359 

" " " Cairo to New Orleans 320 

Mouth of Red River 7 

Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cairo 453 

Kanawha River 27 

Tennessee River 37 

Illinois River 37 

Missouri River 27 

Total number of stations on Western rivers 1,276 



510 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The lighting of AVestern rivers has been under the immedi- 
ate supervision of naval officers detailed for that purpose. 
Their work has given entire satisfaction, though the smallness 
of appropriations has prevented them from establishing as 
many beacon lights as are required. They have lighted all the 
dangerous crossings and navigation is made comparatively easy. 

Frequent trips are made over the territory of the different 
districts by their respective inspectors, and the stations 
moved to suit changed channels, keepers paid, supplied, &c. 

The appropriations for this service have been increased 
from time to time, commencing in 1874 with $50,000, the last 
one in 1888 was $225,000. 

COST OF EACH BEACON LIGHT. 

It is estimated that it costs a little less than $10 each per 
month to maintain these lights, in addition to the cost of the 
tender for visiting the different stations. 

There are 1,226 stations in the three districts. If those on 
the Missouri River were discontinued and added to those which 
need more lights, it would be the proper thing to do, as 
they are no longer of any service on the Missouri ; but it re- 
quires an act of Congress to do it. And it is presumed mem- 
bers of Congress from that State would object. For as long 
as they continue to appropriate money to improve the navi- 
gation of the stream, to be consistent, they must insist upon 
its being lighted, although it has been virtually abandoned by 
steamboats, without any probability of their ever finding 
profitable employment upon it again. 

AH who know anything practically of navigation are aware 
of the great benefit these lights are to navigators, and espec- 
ially in dark stormy nights and shifting channels. No one 
knows the relief it affords under such circumstances to the 
anxious officers on watch unless they have exiDerienced it. 

Going down the Mississippi with a deejjly laden boat, 
drawing nearly all the water, on a dark stormy night, with 
the leadsman crying no bottom — deep four, half three,, 
marked three, half twain, mark twain, quarter less twain, nine 
feet, with every optic strained to catch sight of a '* big 
break" on the one side, and a snag on the other, and the 
beacon light so long coming in sight, places one in a good state 
of mind to appreciate its illuminating power when it looms 
up in the distance, and he wonders how we ever managed to 
get along without them. And yet, if they are not located 
just where he thinks they ought to be, or for any reason the 
keeper has failed to light up in time or the Tender, has been 



CRITICISMS OF A PILOT. 511 

delayed in its constant rounds, the complaints are long and 
loud of neglect, inefficiency, failure of the system, etc. 

And yet all are ready to admit that no other adjunct to our 
navigation has resulted in half the benefit for the money in- 
vested that this has. Still the system is by no means perfect, 
nor is it to be supposed the officers in charge are always above 
criticism. 

The following quotation from the New Orleans Times- 
Democrat over the signature Pilot may be read with interest 
and is undoubtedly a just criticism : — 

THE BEACON LIGHT SERVICE. 

To the Editor Times-Democrat. 

Next to the work of improving the channels of the rivers, 
unless we except the snag-boat service, the greatest aid to 
better and safer navigation given by the government is the es- 
tablishment of the Beacon Light Service. An ever present 
and true monitor, they point us to the ways we should follow 
or avoid in the time of floods as well as low water, and turn- 
ing night into day, as it were, they lessen delays and add to 
safety. But like the fickle river, which brooks not restraint 
and obeys but its own whim in its progress to the sea, the 
beacon that assures safety as we pass up, may lead to danger 
as we return down, and their station can no more be fixed 
than can the currents by which they stand as sentinels be con- 
trolled, and in acknowledgment of this is not only the fact 
that information from masters and pilots as to changes of lo- 
cality that may have become necessary is sought and acted 
upon by the officials in charge, but the further fact that Con- 
gress, at its last session, subdivided the district to the end 
that the recognized and increasing needs of the service might 
be the better met. But in making appropriations therefor 
Congress was guided almost solely by the estimates submitted 
of the amount needed for its proper maintenance, and while it 
was surely expected that no part of the appropriation would 
be needlessly spent, it was just as surely intended that its dis- 
bursement would be made in accordance with the demands of 
the service, limited only by honest judgment, and uninflu- 
enced by motives of parsimony or mistaken economy. And 
this leads me to speak of an act of omission and commission 
on the part of Lieut. O'Kane, of which it is to be earnestly 
hoped his successor, Commander Bridgman, now in charge, 
will not prove guilty. Lieut. O'Kane, while a conscientious 
and capable officer, was possessed with the idea that, happen 



512 Gould's history of kiver navigation. 

what might, his expenditures must remain well and safely 
within his allowance, and so rigidly and invariably did he live 
up to that idea, it is said, that the year before last he reported 
an unexpended balance of $10,000, and last year $5,000, a re- 
sult the fruit of which was to the immediate and serious im- 
pairment of the service in two ways at least. 

1. Because when the necessity of another and new light at a 
given locality became apparent, instead of placing it there at 
once, that overruling fear of such an outlay would manifest 
itself, and to avoid this called- for increase in the number of 
lights, one would, very often, be discontinued at some other 
point and established instead at the new locality ; thus hap- 
pily (?) meeting an exigency without additional cost, though 
at the expense may be of some other locality ; as much as to 
say, in other words, we know that new and additional lights 
are needed from time to time, and we have the money with 
which to supply them, but we don't want to spend it, and, 
therefore, you must manage, through changing the lights from 
place to place, to get along with what you have. 2. Because 
by the saving of such balances from year to year the lie is 
given to the estimates upon w'hich the appropriation is based, 
and justification given to Congress in cutting them down be- 
cause of the fact made so patent thereby that the amount 
asked for will not be needed. This, I believe, is not the kind 
of service the government intended, and I am certain the exi- 
gencies require, and if any one will tell me that Congress in 
making a specific appropriation for a specified object, con- 
templated or would approve of such a rule, I'll not believe 
it. And if Lieut. Bridgman would do justice to himself and 
to the Beacon Light Service, he must avoid the rule of his 
predecessor in this particular, and be guided and controlled 
only by the exigency of the demand and the means at his dis- 
posal. Respectfully, 

Pilot, 



PACKET COMPANIES. 513 



CHAPTER LXyill. 

UPPER MISSISSIPPI PACKET COMPANIES. 

[From Sharf's History of St. Louis.] 

i^nr^HE St. Louis & Keokuk Packet Company was formed 
J- January 1, 1842. John S. McCune and Jas. E. Yate- 
man were the principal stockholders. The Di Vernon was their 
first boat. She was built at St. Louis at a cost of $16,000, and 
started on her first trip to Keokuk in the autumn of that year. 

"In the spring of 1843 she commenced running regularly, 
and, with two other transient boats, made a daily line, except 
Sundays, which continued throughout the season. 

" During the following winter the Laclede was built and the 
Boreas was purchased. With these three boats they opened the 
season of 1844, and secured a contract for carrying the mail." 

"During this season an opposition line was organized with 
three boats — the Swallow, the Anthony "Wayne, and the 
Edward Bates. 

" They continued to run until mid-summer, when the oppo- 
sition line was withdrawn, and the Edward Bates, a fine new 
boat was purchased by the old company. 

" In the spring of 1846, the Lucy Bertram, a new boat, 
was added to the line, and in 1847 the Kate Kerney was built. 

" In 1850, another Di Vernon was built at St. Louis, at a 
cost of $49,000, a sum that was considered fabulous at that 
time for a steamboat. 

" In the spring of that .year another opposition line was 
started with three steamers — Monongahela, New England 
and Mary Stephens." 

The two lines continued nearly throughout the season. One 
boat of each line left St. Louis every week day evening, side 
by side doing the best they could, and sparing no expense for 
fuel or other expenses, and carrying freight and passengers at 
any price they could get. The contest continued until they 
had lost some $50,000, when the opposition was withdrawn, 
and the boats sold at auction, the old company buying the 
New England. 

The Jennie Deans was built in the summer of 1852, and 
the New Lucy in the fall of the same year. She was burned 
at the wharf about six weeks after she was finished. 

In 1853 the Westerner was built, and another Kate Kerney. 
Subsequently those were added to the line. From time to time 

33 



514 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Sam Gaty, Keokuk, Quiiicy, Ben Campbell, Prairie State, G. 
McGee, Glauciis, Kegulator, Jennie Lind, Connawago, Win- 
chester, York State, Tliomas Swan, and others. 

In 1852, the company established a line from St. Louis to 
Quincy. Running one to Keokuk, and one to Quincy, daily, 
except Sundays. They were known as the Quincy Packets and 
the Keokuk Mail Packets. 

The eminent success of this, the lirst organized packet 
company on the Upper Mississippi, was so great, and the re- 
sult so satisfactory to the owners and the public, that other 
companies were soon organized, not only on the Mississippi 
above St. Louis, but on the Missouri and Illinois, as well as 
on most navigable rivers in the valley. 

While the Cincinnati & Louisville Mail line antedated the 
Keokuk Packet Co. by more than twenty years, such was the 
popularity of the latter, that it was about as well known at this 
time (1857) as was the former, which was established in 1818. 

popularity of this line. 

The regularity and promptness with which it started from 
port and made its trips, soon became known, and was so satis- 
factory to the public and its patrons, and was suchau improve- 
ment over the usual custom, of delaying departure for hours 
after the advertised time, and sometimes for days, that it 
grew rapidly into favor, and its patronage was unprecedented, 
and probably did more to advance the commercial interest of St. 
Louis, and for the settlement of the country bordering on that 
portion through which it run, than all other causes combined. 

The stockholders of this company, of whom John S. 
McCune was one of the principal, and furnished the brain 
power and the energy for the whole, were equal to the times 
and to its opportunity, and the line was provided with the 
best boats, and managed in such a way that its popularity 
corttinued to increase until the stock of the Keokuk Packet 
company was considered the best in the market, and very 
little of it for sale for several years 

The extinguishing of Indian titles, and the opening of the 
Northwest to bcttlement, stimulated emigration, and the rush 
to the Upper Mississippi, to "spy out the land," was im- 
mense about this time, or a little earlier. The result was a 
rapid increase of the number and character of steamboats on 
the Upper Mississippi, and while for several years a profitable 
business was done by all, the supply soon exceeded the de- 
mand, as it usually has in all steamboat business on Western 
waters. 



EARLY BOATS IN THE KEOKUK TRADE. 515 

Before attempting a description of the various packet com- 
panies which followed, it may be proper to refer to this part 
of the river before any companies were formed. 

The Keokuk trade was recognized as such, many years 
prior to the organization of any steamboat company. 

All early settlers, as well as old I)oatmen, will remember the 
Rosalie, Capt. Mike Littelton ; the Quincy, (kpt. Cameron ; 
the Boreas, Capt Fitheon ; the Knickerbocker, Capt. Gould, 
and many others long since forgotten. 

BOATS AND BOATMEN ON UPPER MISSISSIPPI. 

There was also many boats running above the rapids from 
St. Louis. Among which will be recollected the Warrior, 
Capt. Throckmorton ; the Winnebago, Capt.Atchinson ; the Joe 
Davis, Capt. Scribe Harris ; the Pizarro, Capt. Smith Harris ; 
the Rolla, Capt. Reynolds; the Gypsy, Capt. Gray; the St. 
Croix, Capt. Bersie: the Illinois, Capt. McCalister; the Rapids, 
Capt. Cole; the Fulton, Capt. Orrin Smith ; the Brazil, the 
Irene, the lone, the Time and Tide, the Falcon, the St. Peters, 
the Montank, and many others. Stimulated by the success 
of the Keokuk company, which succeeded in holding its 
business in spite of the effort made by so large a number of 
boats running through its territory to divide it, determined to 
organize into companies, and manage their business in a more 
systematic manner. 

The result was the formation of several companies in rapid 
succession. Among the first was one from Galena to St. 
Paul, known as the "Galen, Dubuque & Minnesota Packet 
Co," Orrin Smith, President. Minnesota was then the great 
point of attraction for immigrants, and the pine lands of Wis- 
consin had just come into notice, which gave to this company 
an immense business, and they at once commenced buildino- 
boats to accommodate their trade, and could hardly supply 
the demand fast enough. 

They bought everything that offered, that was at all suited 
to the trade, and built as many as five or six boats in one 
season, the largest and finest that had ever been above -St. 
Louis, not excepting the famous Keokuk packets. 

Soon after this organization, or about 1857-8, the boats in 
the trade between St. Louis and St. Paul decided it was neces- 
sary to do something to protect themselves against the exces- 
sive competition existing between them, and decided to make 
a joint arrangement and run their boats regularly, and on 
stated days — dividing the time and the business as judiciously 
and as fairly as they could. The result was, there was some 



516 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ten or more boats included in this arranojement, which after 
running some two years, organized a joint stock company ^ 
known as the Northern Line Packet Co., and elected Capt. 
James AVard, President, and Capt. Thomas H. Griffith, Secre- 
tary and Treasurer. This was a good line of boats, and ran suc- 
cessfully for several years through from St. Louis to St. Paul. 
Before the completion of the canal at Keokuk, during low 
water, they divided their boats and ran a part from the head 
of the Rapids to St. Paul, and a part from Keokuk to St. 
Louis. Thus affording acceptable facilities to the public, 
and the commerce of the Upper Mississippi, as could be ex- 
pected until the completion of the canal, and the improvement 
of the upper rapids. 

These important improvements added greatly to the facili- 
ties of transportation in that trade, and created an induce- 
ment to increase the size of boats, and to run them through 
from St. Louis to St. Paul. 

About that time, or in 1864, Capt. Wm. F. Davidson, who 
had been largly interested in boats, engaged in running to St. 
Paul from La Crosse, and from the Minnesota River, and had 
established what was known as the North-west Union 
Packet Co., by combining the interests of several other com- 
panies that had been driven from their respective trades by 
the extention of railroads, proposed to run his boats through 
to St. Louis. Thus becoming an active competitor for the 
business of the Northern Line Co., and also of the Keokuk Co. 

But in 1868, the Northern Line and the North-west Union 
Packet Co. consolidated, and the next season all ran under the 
joint arrangement, and ran through to St. Louis, with Thmas 
B, Rhodes, President, and Thos. H. Griffith, Secretary. 

There was some twenty boats and man}'^ barges belonging 
to this organization. Many of them large, line boats, and they 
proved strong competitors for the business of the Keokuk 
line. But after running one season a compromise was effected 
with the Keokuk Packet Company, and a new organization was 
created, which was known as the " Keokuk Northern Line 
Packet Company," with a capital stock of $750,000 made up 
by the aggregation of the appraised value of the stock of both 
companies. John S. McCune was made President, and T. H. 
Griffith, Secretary. 

It was an immense corporation, and with much more stock 
than they had business for. But as long as Mr. McCune lived, 
the company was so well managed it seemed prosperous. 

Although the depreciation of so much idle stock, and the 



TWO DESTRUCTIVE AGENCIES AT WORK. 517 

competition with railroads that had now reached almost every 
point on the river seemed to threaten the company with an- 
nihilation sooner or later. It probably never declared a divi- 
dend to the holders of stock of the new company. 

Unfortunately Mr. McCune died about that time or in 1874. 

Soon after his death a serious difficulty arose about his suc- 
cessor, Capt. Davidson beino; the opposing candidate for the 
succession. But the mantle from Mr. McCune was, after 
a lono; and bitter struggle, finally thrown upon the shoulders 
of David Hawkins, one of the directors, and a stockholder in 
the old Northern Line Company. 

But from that time to the death of Capt. Davidson and 
Capt. R. C. Gray, of Pittsburgh, who was a large stockholder, 
and always a director, the company was in litigation, aad in 
the courts some fifteen years, sufficiently long to absorb the 
value of a company's stock of far more value than that of the 
Keokuk Northern Line at the time it was closed out. 

Here were two agencies, either of which was quite sufficient 
to consume and blot from existence any steamboat company 
at work, to destroy one of the most favorably located and well 
organized companies on VV^estern waters — a Miter feud be- 
tween stockholders on the one side, and a combination of 
railroads on the other, and the result was as it always is and 
always will be in similar cases. 

In 1881, the St. Louis & St. Paul Packet Company was 
organized as a successor to the Keokuk Northern Line Com- 
pany, Wm. F. Davidson, President, F. S. Johnston, Secretary, 
with a capital of $100,000. It still continues, 1889,* to main- 
tain the trade between St. Louis and St. Paul, in conjunction 
with a line known as the " Diamond Joe Line." But the pres- 
tige and the fame that so long attached to the numerous Upper 
Mississippi Packet Companies, and rendered them the pride and 
the boast of the whole Mississippi Valley, as well as of the 
thousands of tourists that annually resort to this beautiful river, 
seems to have passed under a cloud, and become obscured or 
nearly so, by the overpowering influence of railroads. 

But those who are familiar with the picturesque scenery and 
the delights of a passage on this, the most beautiful of all 
American rivers, will never believe it will be abandoned or 
lose its attraction, at least for summer travelers and tourists, 
unless the navigation shall become so difficult and dangerous 
from the multiplication of railroad bridges as to render steam- 
boat traveling unsafe or unpleasant. 



* St, Louis & St. Paul Packet Co. since sold out. 



518 Gould's history of river navigation. 

In 1880, the " St. Louis & St. Paul Passeno^er aud Freight 
Line," was incorporated under the hiws of Wisconsin. The 
general office was located at LaCrosse, with Capt. P. L. Da- 
vidson, President, and Lafayette Hohnes, Secretary. Its boats 
were of large capacity and light draft, and did a large freight- 
ing business. 

DIAMOND JOE AND OTHER LINES. 

The Diamond Joe Line was established in 1867 by Joseph 
Reynolds, with a single boat, and used principally in handling 
his own freight, at points on the Mississippi above Dubuque. 
Mr. Reynolds continued to increase his stock, by adding boats 
and barges until the Diamond Joe Line has become a success- 
ful competitor for a large proportion of the trade above St. 
Louis. The principal office is at Dubuque, with Joseph Rey- 
nolds manager and owner and Capt. E. M. Dickey general agent. 

The Eagle Packet Co., originally the St. Louis & Alton 
Packet Co., has increased its stock and extended its business 
to Clarksville, 75 miles further up the Mississippi. It has 
several boats and barges engaged in towing rock, railroad ties, 
lumber, etc. Capt. Williams, President; Capt. Henry Lyhe, 
General Manager ; principal office, Alton, 111. 

The St. Louis & Alton Packet Co. was one of the first 
companies organized, to run above St. Louis, and has been 
continued under numerous administrations with varied suc- 
cess. Before the completion of the railroads from Alton to St. 
Louis, the trade was large and prosperous and some of the finest 
and fastest boats running to St. Louis were in theAlton trade. 

MINNESOTA PACKET COMPANY. 

The following concise history from Capt. R. Blakeley, a 
veteran of St. Paul, one of the origiual organizers of the 
famous Minnesota Packet Co., embraces the names of so many 
well known steamboats and individuals still living, that a more 
detailed account than is usual in this work may prove of in- 
terest, and serve to awaken pleasant recollections of perhaps 
the most active period in the history of this great industry. 

While many of the prominent actors have launched their 
frail barques on more peaceful waters, those that remain may 
remember with much satisfaction the stirring times on the 
Upper Mississippi during the existence of the world-renowned 
Galena, Dubuque and Minnesota Packet Co. 

This Company was organized June 8th, 1847. During the 
winter M. W. Lodwick and R. Blakeley went to Cincinnati 
and bought the steamboat Dr. Franklin which was put on the 



HISTORY OF GALENA, DUBUQUE & MINN. PACKET CO. 519 

river from Galena to St. Paul in ttie spring of the year 1848, 
M. W. Lodvvick, captain, and R. Blakely, clerlv. 

In tlie spring of tlie year 1849, tlie steamer Senator, Captain 
Orrin Smith, was added and in 1850 the Nominee, Capt. Smith, 
replaced the Senator. In the fall of 1851 Capt. M. W. Lod- 
wick went to the Ohio River and built the steamer Ben Camp- 
bell, which was added to the list. In the year 1852 the company 
bought some other boats for freight and low water purposes also. 

During the years 1850-1-2 and 3, Capt. D. S. and R. S. 
Harris and their friends ran the steamer AVest Newton, Dr. 
Franklin No. 2 and some other boats in what was called or 
known as the opposition line from Galena to St. Paul. The 
business was regarded a very lively one, if not very profitable, 
and almost every one in Galena, Dubuque and St. Paul took 
sides with either one line or the other during this contest. 

In the fall of the year 1853 the interest of all was consoli- 
dated under the name of the Galena and Minnesota Packet 
Company, Capt. Orrin Smith, President, and J. R. Jones, 
Secretary, and in the spring of the year 1854, the business 
opened with the following boats as the passenger boats of the 
line : Nominee, Captain R. Blakeley ; War Eagle, Captain D. 
S. Harris; Galena, Captain D. B. Morehouse; Roval Arch, 
E. H. Gleim. 

The War Eagle and Galena were new boats which were 
built during the fall and winter of the years 1853 and 1854, 
and were regarded as the best boats for high water, speed and 
first class accommodations. They were about 225 feet long 
and 27 or 28 feet beam, and very beautiful side-wheel pack- 
ets and were a pride of the owners and patrons. 

In the summer of 1855, the beautiful new packet Northern 
Belle, Capt. Preston Lodwick, was added to the list and 
proved a very popular and profitable addition to the fleet. 

During this season the Illinois Central Railroad was com- 
pleted to Dunleith, on the Mississippi River, and the packet 
Company made an arrangement, to run in connection with the 
railroad leaving Dunleith, morning and evening. 

On the opening of navigation in the year 1856 the line was 
run as the Galena, Dunleith and Minnesota Packet Company, 
and the following boats composed the line, War Eagle, D. L. 
Harris, Galena, Capt. Kennedy Lodwick; Northern Belle, 
Capt. Preston Lodwick; Golden Era, Capt. J. W. Parker; 
Lady Franklin, Capt. M. E. Lucas ; Ocean Wave, Capt. E.H. 
Oleim ; Lily Belle, Capt. W. H. Laughton ; Granite State, 
J. Y. Hurd; Alhambra, Capt. W. H. Gabbert. 

Royal Arch, Capt. J. J. Smith, and Greek Slave, Capt. 



520 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Cephas GoU, ran to Rock Island to connect with the Chicago 
and Rock Island Railroad. This was a year of immense emi- 
gration and proved a profitable as well as a very active season 
and too much of a temptation to the people of Dubuque to be 
resisted and the business men, under the lead of Mr. J. B. 
Farley as manager, bought the Fanny Harris, Capt. Jones 
Worden, and probably two other boats were run during the 
seasons and they also made contracts to build two first class 
side-wheel boats :^or the year 1857. 

GALENA, DUNLEITH & MINNESOTA PACKET COMPANY. 

The Galena, Dunleith and Minnesota Packet Co., had also 
contracted for their new boats to be ready for the year 1857. 

During the winter of 1856-7 the parties interested in the 
Galena, Dunleith and Minnesota Packet Co. and the Dubuque 
Co., formed a new or consolidated line for the coming season, 
under the name of the Galena, Dubuque, Dunleith and Minne- 
sota Packet Co., Capt Orrin Smith, President; J. R. Jones, 
Secretary, and R. Blakeley, General Agent at Dunleith. 

The new boats arrived early in the season and were as 
follows: Grey Eagle, Capt. D. S. Harris; Northern Light, 
Capt. Preston Lodwick ; Milwaukee, Stephen Hewitt; Key 
City, Jones Worden ; Itasca, David Whitten. The Grey 
Eagle was 250 feet long and 35 feet beam. The Milwaukee 
was 250 feet long, and 35 feet beam. The Northern Light 
was 240 feet long and 40 feet beam. The Key City and 
Itasca, were 220 feet long and 35 feet beam. These boats 
were very light draft and were built without regard to expense 
and were in all respects the best boats of their size and class 
that ran on the Mississippi River. 

During the fall and winter of 1856-7 an arrangement was 
made with the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railroad to put 
on a line of boats, to run in connection with the road from 
Prairie du Chien to St. Paul, to be called the Prairie du Chien 
and St. Paul Packet Line. The Milwaukee, Capt. Stephen 
Hewitt; Itasca, Capt. David Whitten ; Ocean Wave, Capt. 
E. H. Gleim, composed this line. 

In the summer of 1858 a line of boats belonging to the 
company ran from LaCrosse to St. Paul in connection with 
the Milwaukee & LaCrosse Railroad ; the War Eagle, Northern 
Belle and probably another composed this line. 

The boats above named continued to run on the river above 
Galena and Dubuque until the summer of 1862, when the 
property was sold and the Galena, Dubuque, Dunleith & Min- 
nesota Packet Co. was dissolved. 



THIS POPULAR COMPANY DISSOLVED IN 1862. 521 

AmoDg the many and popular clerks who were employed 
on the line during its operation may be mentioned: John H. 
Mateland, John Brooks, A. L. Monfort, John Pieu, John 
Cochran, Jos. DuBois, Geo. H. Hamilton, Ed. Halliday, 
Chas. Hinde, Chas. Hargus, Geo. S. Prince and many others 
too numerous to mention. 



CHAPTER LXIX. 

EARLY STEAMBOATS ON THE ILLINOIS RIVER. 

AMONG the first of which there was any regularity may 
be mentioned the Friendship, Mungo Park, Tiskilwa, 
Daniel Hillman,Wyoming, Sygnet, LaSalle, Alvarado, Prince- 
ton, Avalaunch, Pearl, Beardstown, Movestar. 

Later they were succeeded by a little larger class, among 
which was the Herald, Excelsior, Timolian, Lehigh, Mount- 
aineer, Planter, Eureka, Kingston, Ocean Wave, Pekin, 
Schuyler, Martha, Prairie State, Illinois. 

Until 1835 there was but few boats on the Illinois River. 
Occasionally a boat bound for the Ohio, or for New Orleans 
would go up for a load, and a few ran irregularly, or when 
they could get a trip, and their advertisements were continued 
from day to day in the papers until they were loaded. 

Among such boats may be found the names of Criterion in 
1828, Orion and Express in 1832, Miner in 1833, Lady Jack- 
son, Wisconsin, Cold Water, Utility, American, Springfield, 
Champion in 1834 ; Banner, Winnebago, Adventure, Illinois, 
in 1835. 

NAPLES PACKET COMPANY. 

This company was organized in 1848 by E. W. Gould and 
C. S. Rogers, of St. Louis, and Messrs Mather, Lamb & 
Ridgeley, of Springfield, Illinois, to run between St. Louis 
and Naples on the Illinois River, and in connection with the 
Sangamon & Morgan Railroad, then running from Springfield 
to Naples. That was among the first railroads in the West, 
and at that time the rails were made of flat bar iron. 

Afterwards it was relaid with the ordinary T rail, and the 
road extended to Decatur, and then to Danville, and finally to 
the State line, and the name changed to Great Western. 

The packet company was organized with two boats, the 
Time and Tide and the Anthony Wayne, both light draft side- 
wheel boats, each boat making three trips a week from St. Louis. 



522 Gould's history of river navigation . 

It was soon apparent the trade would not support two boats, 
and the Anthony Wayne was withdrawn, and returned to 
the Upper Mississippi, where both boats had previously been 
engao-ed. The Time and Tide was continued in the trade for 
several years, until withdrawn to make room for a boat of 
more speed and capacity. 

The Niagara was purchased by the company and ran for 
several years, and was superseded by a new boat built by the 
company called Cataract. As this was the only route from 
Springfield and the interior of the State to St. Louis, except 
by stage, it soon became very popular, and was liberally pa- 
tronized, and frequent accessions in the capacity of the boats 
was necessary. 

THE FIVE-DAY LINE. 

About this time, or in 1852, what was known as the ^\five 
day line'' was organized, to run between St. Louis and La 
Salle, the head of navigation, on the Illinois river, and the 
terminus of the " Illinois and Michigan Canal." 

This was rendered necessary to accommodate the rapidly^ in- 
creasing travel between the East and the West, a large por- 
tion of which selected the "lake route" from Buffalo to 
Chicago. The lake boats were then of great capacity for 
passengers, and very elegant and fast. 

The canal was provided with packet boats which were fitted 
up in fine style for the accommodation of passengers, and 
would accommodate from 75 to 100 with sleeping berths, and 
although not capacious, was a great improvement over stage 
traveling, especially at night, and the meals provided were 
proverbially good. 

This route soon became popular and the patronage of the 
Jive-day line continued to increase, until railroad facilities 
were such as to furnish more direct and rapid transit between 
the East and West. 

This line was owned by individual companies, each boat be- 
ing run on its owner's account. There was some of the finest 
and fastest boats of that day engaged in this trade, and the 
time made from St. Louis to LaSalle, by some of them, has 
never been excelled on the Illinois River, and not often on 
any tributary of the Mississippi. 

The familiar names of Garden City, Amazon, Cataract, 
Messenger, Prairie Bird, Belle Gould, Aunt Lettie, Alma and 
others, belonging to that line, will awaken pleasant recollec- 
tions of early steamboat days, and canal-boat experiences, in 
many who still survive the wreck of time, and the result of 
railroad collisions, etc. 



ILLINOIS RIVER PACKET COMPANY. 523 

The name of '■^Jive-day Hue'' originated in the fact that 
heretofore weekly trips had been the universal custom of all 
boats in that trade, and it was a great innovation upon tradi- 
tional usages to reduce the time to live days, and it was only 
through great persuasion the change was made, and then only 
under protest by the older navigators. But it was in accord- 
ance with the spirit of the times, and soon adjusted itself to 
the inevitable. 

The Naples Packet Company saw the necessity and the de- 
mand for increased facilities in the upper part of the river, 
and at the risk of its own trade, joined in the eifort to secure 
faster and better boats for the through trade, adding two of 
their own boats to the through line. 

A few years of railroad comjjetition destroyed the famous 
Jive day line and all other lines on that river, except the Naples 
packets, and only from their connection with a railroad, which 
terminated at the river, it would probably have succumbed 
long years since. But by extending its business to points 
further up the river, it still lingers under another name, as it 
has for years, through hope and fear, and unless the govern- 
ment comes to its relief, b}^ completing the improvements of 
the river, it is only a question of time when it will yield its 
remaining business to the great monopoly'. 

Captains Rogers and Abrams are the only members of the 
old organization that still retain positions occupied in the old 
company for near forty years. Their names and faces have 
so long been honored and recognized as the principal factors 
in the Naples Packet Co., that wMthout them the new organi- 
zation would hardly be identified. 

In 1858 under the general incorporation act of the State of 
Illinois, the Illinois River Packet Co. was organized. D. J. 
Hancock was elected President and Wm. Mullen Secretary, 
L. T. Belt, Superintendent. 

The stock was made up by a valuation of the several steam- 
boats intended for the line. Among the masters of the boats 
the names of Belt, Devinney, Rhodes, Hicks, Clay, Stackpole, 
Scott, Sargeant, Russell and others will be remembered by the 
older citizens of Illinois and the merchants of St. Louis, as 
good boatmen commanding a good line of boats, deserving 
Si better result, considering the great improvement they 
introduced by a combination of what had heretofore been 
an irregular and unsatisfactory manner of running their 
boats. After a varied experience and a vigorous effort to 
meet the competition from the common enemy of all inland 



524 Gould's history of river navigation. 

water transportation, the company succumbed and the boats 
that remained were sold to a new organization over which Mr. 
John S. McCune was elected President and Capt. E. A. Shible 
Superintendent. 

This organization had ample facilities, and was prepared to 
win fame and fortune, in spite of railroad competition. But 
about two years was suflScient to satisfy the company that 
unless the government would improve the navigation of the 
river, longer effort was useless. 

About that time Mr. McCune died, and the Naples Packet 
Co. was all that was left to represent what once promised to 
be one of the great arteries of the commerce of the valley of 
the Illinois and a large contribution to the trade of St. Louis. 

STEAMBOAT OTTAWA. 

In Sharfs History of St. Louis, among other items relating 
to early steamboats, is this one: — 

" The steamboat Ottawa was the first boat built on the 
Illinois. She was constructed in part at Ottawa, added to at 
Peru, and finished at St. Louis. She was of the very 
lightest draught, seventeen inches, and had a powerful engine ; 
the design being to take two keels in tow in low water, the 
steamer herself being light, so that whenever there was seven- 
teen inches of water on the bars she would be able to reach 
St. Louis with one 100 tons of freight weekly. 

Her length was one 100 feet, breaclth,20 feet, and the cabin 
laid off entirely in state rooms. The owners resided in 
Ottawa." 

There is no date by which to determine the appearance ot 
this specimen of marine architecture. It must, however, have 
been pretty earl}'^, as none of the present generation of " old 
boatmen" know anything of the " tow-boat" Ottawa. 

As early as 1844, Capt. Samuel Rider, one of the most 
mechanical and inventive boatmen ever on the Illinois River, 
built at Griggsville landing a sort of nondescript boat he 
called Olitippa, which was propelled by horses upon an 
endless chain. The boat had no cabin or cargo box and the 
hold was too shallow to stow freight in. 

She was designed expressly to carry freight in low water 
which, of course, had to be stowed on the main deck, as she 
had no other, and the cook, the officers, and the men occupied 
the same location. The clerk's office was carried in the 
captain's hat, and as there was but few ladies traveling on 
the Illinois at that early day, a chamber-maid was dispensed 



CAPT. SAMUEL RIDER AND HIS BOATS. 525 

with. Later on when accidents on the rivers were more fre- 
quent from fires, and bursting of boilers, the Olitippa would 
doubtless have become very popular, as but little apprehension 
could have been felt from either cause on her. 

She proved to be what she was designed for, alight draught 
boat (only ten inches) for the Illinois River. But when she 
drifted out of her home element into the strong currents of 
the Mississippi, she was at sea without a rudder, or without 
power to avoid snags or lee-shores. Consequently after 
making one trip to St. Louis, she retired from the placid 
waters of the Illinois, and emigrated with the ducks and 
geese, to a more genial climate. 

After the departure of the Olitippa the experience and the 
genius of Captain Rider led him to desigu and construct two 
steamboats at the same place, (Griggsville Landing), that ex- 
celled all steamboats in point of capacity on shoal water that 
had been built up to that date, 1847. While not a boat 
builder, but a sea-going sailor (all the way from Cape Cod), 
the model of the hull was unexceptionable, the power, 
although light, was well applied and the cabin tiuish and ac- 
commodations were about equal to any boats of the time, 
wherever built. The first one was called Timolian and the 
second was called Prairie State. 

Capt. Rider was a careful, obliging commander and popu- 
lar with all who knew him. No one knew better how to re- 
lieve a boat in difficulty than he did. 

He crossed the unknown river in 1881 , leavingfour daughters 
and one son and many friends but no enemies. This can 
be said of but few men who so often meet the adverse side of 
society, as do the boatmen on Western waters. 



52<) Gould's history of river navigatiox. 



CHAPTER LXX. 

A FAST AGE — PASSION FOR RACING — A CELEBRATED FOUR- 
MILE-HEATS RACE— FAST TIME MADE ON THE MISSISSIPPI 
RIVER. 

NOTHING so much interests the average American as 
rapid motion, and it is not confined to our nationality 
altoojether either. 

The fastest sailing vessel, even a merchantman, always 
got the preference in the early days, if known to excel 
in speed. 

Then followed the clipper ships, which excited the admira- 
tion of the civilized world, because of their speed. 

Steam had no sooner been applied to navigation than the 
genius of the best mechanical skill was challenged to produce 
the best results in speed from a combination of steam power 
and model of vessels. 

Then followed individual rivalry for the championship in 
rowing, sculling, etc. Then yachting and sail-boating attracted 
great attention, and the rivalry between this country and 
Europe was such that in order to test the speed of some of 
their favorite-, voyages have been made across the Atlantic 
and large sums of money staked on the result of a yacht 
race. 

In the meantime railroads have been developing rates of 
speed unheard of by any other practical mode of locomotion 
yet discovered, and the road that has the fastest trains 
always has the preference, even though not so good a track 
or so good accommodations. 

And antedating all these, was the ancient custom of trials 
of speed in foot-racing, horse-racing, etc. The last named 
seems even to increase in interest, and faster time in harness, 
if not under the saddle, is made than in former times. 

In the New York Evening Post of May 23, 1823, the fol- 
lowing account of the great race between Eclipse and Henry 
is published, and while on the subject of fast time, a report 
of this world-renowned race may be admissible, as no horse 
race in this country has ever created so much interest before 
or since as that did, and there is no record to show that so 
large a sum of money had ever before been staked on the re- 
sult of any race. 



HORSE RACING. 527 



REPORT OF THE RACE. 

'* Yesterday the match race between Eclipse and a Southern 
horse, called Henry, was won over the Union course. 

It will be recollected that the gentlemen from New York 
in attendance at the match race last fall at Washington City 
between Eclipse and Sir Charles offered to run the Eclipse 
this spring on the ' Long Island course ' for twenty thousand 
dollars ($20,000) against any horse that could be produced in 
the United States or elsewhere, and gave the Southern gentle- 
men from that time, November 22, to the time of meeting to 
look around and name their horse. 

The challenge was readily accepted, and the $3,000 forfeit 
that was agreed upon in case either party declined to run the 
race, was deposited. 

A number of horses were put in training for the occasion ,^ 
but only two, viz., Henry and Betsey Richards, were brought 
on from the South, who, it was thought, could contend with 
Eclipse, and which of these two were to run the race was kept 
a secret until the signal was given from the judges' stand to 
l)ring up the horse, when Henry made his appearance and 
Eclipse soon after. 

The doubts that had heretofore been entertained (and they 
were many), that the Southern sportsman would pay the for- 
feit and there would be no race, vanished at once and all was 
anxiety to see the result of the contest. 

The hour of starting soon arrived, but such was the immense 
crowd on the course in solid column for near a quarter of a 
mile, both right and left of the judges' box, that some minutes 
were consumed by the officers in clearing it. Nor was it 
effected without much difficulty. 

About 1 :10 o'clock both horses set off at the tap of the 
drum, Henry taking the lead, and keeping it the whole four 
miles, and came in about a half-length ahead. Although sev- 
eral efforts were made by the rider of Eclipse, a young man, 
whose name we do not recollect, to pass his antagonist, but 
still he could not do it. The result of this heat was so differ- 
ent from what Northern sportsmen had expected, that the 
mercury fell below the freezing point instantly. Bets 3 to 1 
that Eclipse would loose the second heat were loudly offered, 
but few takers. Time in winning the heat was seven minutes 
and forty seconds. 

SECOND HEAT. 

Time having elapsed for breathing the horses were again 
brought up for the second heat. It had been determined in 



528 Gould's history of riv^er navigation. 

the interim to change Eclipse's rider, a thing that has often 
been done, and who should appear but our old friend Proody, 
who was greeted with tremendous cheers by the multitude. 
He soon mounted and at the word, went off. Henry took the 
lead, as in the first heat, and kept it until about two-thirds 
around on the third mile. Proody seized with a quickness 
and dexterity peculiar to himself the favorable moment that 
presented when appearing to aim at the outside he might gain 
the inside. Accordingly he made a dash and passed on to the 
left and maintained the ground he had gained to the end of 
the second race, coming out about two lengths ahead. The 
air was now made to resound from every quarter, with Proody 
forever, and as soon as he had been weighed, the populace 
bore him off on their shoulders, across the course, in spite of 
all entreaties he could make to the contrary. 

The mercury in the sporting thermometer immediately rose 
to a pleasant summer heat, and the backers of Eclipse were 
now ready for anything that oft'ered. 

They proposed to bet even, but there were no takers. Sev- 
eral offers to draw were made by gentlemen who had bet on 
Henry, but not accepted. Confidence was fully restored to 
the friends of Eclipse. 

Time on the second heat 7 minutes and 49 seconds. 

THIRD HEAT. 

When the horses were brought up for this heat, a jockey 
by the name of Taylor known for several years on Southern 
courses for his great success, and whose skill was acknowl- 
edged to be inferior to no one, made his appearance and was 
announced as the rider of Henry in the third heat, instead of 
the boy who had rode him in the former heats. 

The course was once more cleared, and off they went, 
Proody taking the lead and keeping it to the end of the race, 
coming in about three lengths ahead. 

The air was now rent with shouts by New Yorkers and the 
press around the judges' stand was so great for a few moments 
that nothing could overcome it. 

The whole course was blocked up by a solid mass of men, 
10,000 deep, leaving no room to bring the horses to the stand 
so the riders could dismount and be weighed. Order, how- 
ever, was at length restored, the riders weighed and every- 
thing found correct and Eclipse pronounced the victor. He 
was then marched off the course to the popular tune of " See 
the Conquering Hero Comes." 



COMMENCEMENT OF FAST STEAMBOATS. 529 

Thus has ended the gretitest race that has ever been run in 
this country. The result has shown that the challenge may 
again be repeated : " Long Island Eclipse against the world." 

We hope, however, that Mr. Van Ranst will never again 
suffer him to run, but let the country have the benefit of his 
stock. 

He has now proved himself beyond all cavil to be a horse 
of both speed and bottom, unequaled in this country or per- 
haps any other at this time. 

Time of third and last heat was 8 minutes and 24 seconds. 

Thus the event has shown that the opinion of Northern 
sportsmen is better than that of Southern — that size and 
bone are essential to strength and ought to be taken into the 
calculation, and, supposing blood and bottom to be equal, 
must always win. It is supposed there was upwards of 50,000 
spectators on the field. 

It was claimed that Henry carried 12 pounds more weight 
than is allowed on any horse of his age — that being the reg- 
ulation on the Union course. Under the usual regulations he 
would have distanced Eclipse in the first heat. 

About the time this race between Eclipse and Henry was 
agitating the whole sporting world (1823) the application of 
steam to navigation was beginning to develop great possibil- 
ities of speed from steamboats. From 1811 there had been 
built in the Valley of the Mississippi up to that time 112 
steamboats, and they were rapidly increasing. One of the 
problems to be solved by this new factor on Western rivers, 
as well as on tide waters, was the speed that could be ob- 
tained. 

The popular stage coach, the keel-boat and the barge, 
the more modern canal-boat, were all too slow for the 
age and must be superseded. The principal question to 
be determined by all who had embarked in steam naviga- 
tion was how much speed could be obtained. In this the 
whole country were in sympathy, and every town and city 
where suitable timber could be secured, on the Ohio or tribu^ 
taries, undertook to build, and did build at least one boat. 

Machinery was even brought from the East, and in some 
cases from England, to put in them. The result showed a 
wonderful increase in speed, as may be seen from the record. 

In 1815 the steamer Enterprise made the trip from New 
Orleans to Louisville in 25 days 2 hours and 40 minutes. 

In 1817 the Washington made it in 25 days. The Shelby 
made it the same year in 20 days 4 hours and 20 minutes. 

In 1819 the Paragon made it in 18 days and 10 hours. 

34 



530 Gould's history of river navigation 

Each succeeding year reduced the time, and in 1828 the 
Tecumseh made the same run in 8 days and 4 hours. 

In 1834 the Tuscarora made it in 7 days and 18 hours. In 
1837 it was made inside of 7 days by the Gen. Brown, Ran- 
dolph, Empress and Sultana. 

In 1840 the Edward Shippen made it in 5 days and 14 hours. 
In 1852 the Eclipse made it in 4 days and 18 hours. In 1853 
the A. S. Shotwell reduced it to 4 days 10 hours and 20 min- 
utes. 

Up to about this time everything designed to run on the Mis- 
sissippi was sacrificed to gain speed. But it began to be seen 
there were some other things to be considered in order to secure 
the best results to stockholders. It was demonstrated that 
fast time was an expensive luxury, and while it was very en- 
joyable to the officers and crew and popular with passengers, 
the expense for fuel and often the neglect of business and 
other necessary contingents induced the building of a different 
class of boats, and more carrying capacity and less speed came 
gradually into favor on Western waters. But it was greatly 
accelerated by the building of railroads, which at once divided 
the trade, and was always a strong competitor for freight. 

With the exception of the few boats that have been built to 
run on the lower part of the Mississippi, no effort has been 
made to secure speed at the sacrifice of other advantages since 
the days of the fast boats between Louisville and New Orleans 
and Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. 

The same may be said on the Northern lakes, where great 
efforts and great results were often obtained in this connec- 
tion. 

THE FASTEST BOAT. 

The maximum of speed on the Western waters was pretty 
nearly attained, if not quite, in the steamer J. M. White, as 
early as 1844. And it is questionable whether the time made 
by her has ever been beaten, when it is recollected that several 
cut-ofis were made in the river between the time she ran and 
the time the great match race between the Robert E. Lee 
and the Natchez 24 years later. 

An evidence of the White's superior speed is seen in the 
further fact that she made three consecutive trips inside of 
four and one-half days each, and attended to her regular busi- 
ness both up and down, except on the one trip. 

As a rule very little money was ever bet on steamboat 
racing by the owners, although large sums were often bet by 
the friends of either boat. 



SPEED IN EVERYTHING THE DESIDERATUM. 531 

In the race of the Lee and Natchez it is not known that 
any bets were made by the owners, although it is presumed 
by some that as much money changed hands on that race as 
on the great race between Eclipse and Heniy, as reported 
above. 

Steamboat racing has never been popular with the traveling 
public, and always expensive to the owners; hence, very little 
racing has been done on the rivers and lakes since the enact- 
ment of the steamboat law in 1851. The principal objection 
urged by the public is the greater liability to accidents, al- 
though long and careful observation shows that to be an error, 
for the reason that much greater care and watchfulness is ob- 
served by all on board when racing. 

While a race or trial of speed is no longer heard of on in- 
land waters, we are constantly noting the fast time and the 
great speed of the ocean racers. A steamer that cannot cross 
the ocean in seven days is not up to the standard, and is con- 
sidered only second class in point of speed, and consequently 
second choice with the traveling community. 

Speed seems to be the great desideratum with " young 
America." Isot content with fast horses, fast steamboats, 
fast .railroad trains, the elements of the atmosphere and the air 
are brought into subjection, to contribute to the speed of the 
distant message, while the human voice is made to instantly 
echo to all parts of a large city. Go on to the marts of trade 
anywhere, into the exchange, along the thoroughfares of the 
city, and the impression arises at once in your mind, there 
must be a fire in the neighborhood. 

Go into a country town about dinner time, and when the 
bell rings at the hotel to announce dinner the first thought is 
a fight or a fire. 

Go to a place of amusement, night or day, and when the 
exhibition is near its close you will be sure the whole audience 
either live out of the city or in the remote suburbs, and the 
time of the last train is nearly up, such is the rush and anxiety 
to get on to the street. 

Everybody and everything seems to be in a hurry, except 
horse cars on city railroads, and dudes and loafers on the 
street corners of " retail streets " of a city. 

No more striking contrast of this peculiarity in Young 
America can be seen than in a visit to our sister republic, 
Mexico. 

There is no one in a hurry except the mule drivers on the 
street cars. 



532 GOULP'S HISTORY OF KIVER NAVIOATION. 



CHAPTER LXXI. 

ON the 0th of May, 1844, the /St. Louis Republican made 
the following announcement : — 

*' What has heretofore been merely the speculation of en- 
thusiasts has been realized. New Orleans has been brought 
within less than four days' travel of St. Louis, in immediate 
propinquity. 

The J. M. White has been the lirst to accomplish this 
extraordinary trip. 

The J. M. White left this port on Monday, April 29th, at 
3 o'clock p. m., with 600 tons of freight, and arrived in New 
Orleans Friday eve, 3d inst., being three days and sixteen 
hours on her downward trip. 

She left New Orleans for St. Louis on Saturday, May 4th, 
1844, at forty minutes after 5 o'clock p. m., and arrived on 
the 8th, having made the trip up in three days and twenty- 
three hours, having been but nine days on the voyage out and 
home, including all detentions." 

The following are the runs up, from wharf to wharf, it be- 
ing the best time ever made by any steamboat on Western 
waters : — 

" From New Orleans to Natchez, 300 miles, 20 hours and 
40 minutes ; Vicksburg, 410 miles, 29 hours and 55 minutes; 
Montgomery, 625 miles, 1 day, 13 hours, 8 minutes; Memphis, 
775 miles, 2 days, 12 hours, 8 minutes; Cairo, 1,000 miles, 
3 days, C^ hours, 44 minutes; St. Louis, 1,200 miles, 3 days, 
23 hours, 9 minutes." 

The time of the J. M. White was not excelled to St. Louis 
until 1869, when the Natchez beat it one hour, 49 minutes, 
and the Robert E. Lee, in 1870, three hours, 44 minutes. 
Although at Cairo and Memphis and at other points below, 
the difference was much less, as may be seen by the annexed 
tables. 

The race between the Lee and the Natchez, at least as far 
as Cairo, seems to have been a fair test of speed. From fog 
or some other cause, the Natchez claims to have been detained 
from there to St. Louis. 

The claim that the Lee was assisted by the Pargoud while 
coaling, does not seem substantiated from their subsequent 
runs. The "2(y years that elapsed between the time the White 
made her quick trip (1844) and the time of the Lee and Nat- 



NINE DAYH TO NKVV OKLEAN'S AND RETUKN. 533 

chez (1870) had made so many changes in the river, in the 
character of the fuel, in the manner of handling it, in the 
size of the boats and in the different stages of water, it is 
difficult to make a fair comparison. Running against time 
does not test the speed of steamboats like that of horses. 
Circumstances so easily affect the former, that the only way 
to determine the relative speed of boats is, to start them to- 
gether, or at least the same day. 

So far as the record goes, the most remarkable feature in 
the White's trip is the time she made the round trip in. It 
shows not only fast time for the boat, but fast work for the 
crew, and good management by the officers. It has never 
been excelled nor equaled by several days. Nine days from 
St. Louis to New Orleans and return, handling 600 tons of 
freight on the down trip, will probably never be excelled by 
any steamboat. 

The stage of water has so much to do with making fast 
time, both up and down stream, as well as the weather, that 
the boat striking both will show a far better record than one 
even faster that is less fortunate. 

Probably there has been no year since 1844, the time the 
White made her great run, when the river has continued high 
so long. Agreeai)le to my recollection it rained forty days 
and nights, consecutively, although it was not until later in 
the season, about the 17th of June, that the water was the 
hifjhest at St. Louis. But it was hi";h all the season, and 
more favorable for fast time before it became the highest. 

The sul)joined tables, although not supposed to be abso- 
lutely correct in all cases, will be read with interest by many 
who still survive the wreck of time and that of the splendid 
boats they were once connected with, as well as by those who 
still remember with pleasure the excitement incident to a 
quick trip by a favorite boat, to say nothing of the thousands 
along the shores and even in distant States who bet large 
sums of money on the vjroiifj boat. 

While making quick trips was always an expensive luxury, 
during the time of the great passenger travel on the rivers of 
the West, it was generally thought to pay, although as a rule 
the ambition of officers and of owners to beat the time of some 
other boat had more to do with quick trips than had the hope 
of increased profits. 

The charges so often made, especially in the East and 
abroad, of the great danger to travelers from reckless steam- 
boat racing on Western rivers, had very little foundation in 
fact. The fewest accidents have ever occurred during a race 



534 Gould's history of river navigation. 

or a trial of speed against time for the most obvious reasons. 
Every one on board at such times is doing his duty, and when 
such is the case comparatively few accidents occur. 

A proverbial fact on our rivers is that, as a rule, the fastest 
boats have not been profitable, and of late years the effort has 
been to build them for general capacity rather than great 
speed. 

converse vs. swan. 

An anecdote in point is told of Capt. J. C. Swan, one of the 
oldest and most respected of the few remaining old boatmen 
of the West. 

There had existed for some years a commendable rivalry be- 
tween him and Capt. Joe Converse as to the speed of their 
respective boats. 

Capt. Converse had always managed to have the fastest 
boat. Finally Capt. Swan lost one of his boats by accident, I 
think, perhaps the first Alex Scott, when he bought Capt. 
Converse's interest in the J. M. White, which had then estab- 
lished a record of being the fastest boat in the West, if not in 
the world. After running her a few trips, Capt. Swan re- 
marked to some friends : — 

" Converse has often beaten me in the speed of his boats, 
but he never before has beaten me half as badly as when he 
sold me the White." 

Among the races of former years none was more famous or 
exciting than that between the Baltic and Diana, from New 
Orleans to Louisville, about the year 1854. During that 
period a number of handsome steamers were engaged in the 
trade from Louisville to New Orleans, which would generally 
go into the latter city fully laden, take enough freight for 
ballast and all the passengers that wanted to go and hurry back 
to Louisville for another cargo. They kept out of the way of 
each other as much as possible by leaving Louisville on differ- 
ent days, but sometimes it would happen that two would 
leave New Orleans on the same day. The Baltic and Diana 
left New Orleans together, the Baltic slightly in the lead. 
Capt. Frank Carter, afterward superintendent at Louisville of 
the United States Mail Line Company, commanded the Baltic, 
and Capt. E. T. Sturgeon commanded the Diana. Neither 
of the boats had ever exhibited remarkable speed, and while 
this was what might be called a slow race, it was the longest 
race that was ever contested, and very exciting to the passen- 
gers and crews of both. The distance is 1,382 miles, and 
there was not an hour of the time occupied by the trip that 
the two boats were not in sight or hearing of each other. An 
artist was on board the Baltic at the time, and he immortal- 



RACE OF THE DIANA AND BALTIC. 535 

ized the event by transfixing to canvas in oil a night scene, in 
which were depicted the two imjDOsing steamers in the fore- 
ground. The Baltic won the race, but steamboatmen were 
always of the opinion that it was more by reason of misman- 
agement on the Diana than because the Baltic was the faster 
of the two. 

In 1838 the steamer Diana received from the Post-office 
Department of the United States a prize of $500 in gold, 
which had been offered to the first boat that would make the 
run from New Orleans to Louisville inside of six days. Her 
time was five days, twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes. 
The quickest time, it is said, ever made from New Orleans to 
Cincinnati was five days and eighteen hours, in 1843, by the 
Duke of Orleans. The fastest trip after that was made by the 
Charles Morgan, in June, 1877. She made the time to Cin- 
cinnati in six days and eleven hours, having made forty-two 
landings and lost three and a half hours in getting through 
the canal at Louisville. Li April of the same year the 
Thompson Dean made the run in six days and nineteen hours, 
and had lost fourteen hours in the canal and seventeen hours 
at way landings. The R. R. Springer went through in 1881 
from New Orleans to Cincinnati in five days, twelve hours 
and forty-five minutes runningtime. Her best time was made 
while in the Mississippi River. From the time she reached 
the mouth of the Ohio until she arrived at Cincinnati her speed 
decreased. She consumed twenty-two hours and five minutes 
more time from New Orleans to Cairo than did the R, E. Lee 
in 1870. In March, 1881, the Will S. Hayes made the run 
in six days, seventeen hours and ten minutes from port to 
port, having made fifty-one landings and met with other 
detentions. 

In May, 1882, four quick trips were made from Helena 
to Memphis. The first was made by the Belle Memphis in 
five hours and fifty-three minutes ; the second by the City of 
Cairo in five hours and fifty-two minutes ; the third by the 
City of Providence in five hours and forty-nine and ahalf min- 
utes, and the last by the James Lee in five hours and fourteen 
minutes. In March, 1883, the Kate Adams made the run in 
five hours and eigrhteen and a half minutes. The time of the 
R. E. Lee between these points in 1870, in the great Lee- 
Natchez race, was six hours and forty-three minutes, and this 
had been beaten in May, 1853, by the Eclipse, which made 
the run in six hours and seventeen minutes, and by the Pey- 
tona previously, in six hours and thirty-six minutes. But 
cut-offs in the stretch of river from Helena to Memphis be- 



536 Gould's history of river navigation. 

tween 1870 and 1882 had shortened the distance about fifteen 
miles. However, it must be understood that this shortening 
of distance by cut-offs is not of much advantage to an ascend- 
ing steamer, as the diminished distance is balanced by the 
more rapid current. 

GREATEST STEAMBOAT RACE EVER RUN. 

The greatest steamboat race that was ever run in the world, 
however, was that which occurred in June, 1870, from New 
Orleans to St. Louis between the Robert E. Lee and the 
Natchez. The latter was built at Cincinnati and was com- 
manded by Captain T. P. Leathers, and in June of the above 
year made the fastest time on record from New Orleans to 
St. Louis, 1,278 miles, in three days, twenty-one hours and 
fifty-eight minutes. The Robert E. Lee was built at New Al- 
bany soon after the war and was towed across the river to the 
Kentucky side to have her name pamted on her wheelhouses, 
a matter that was deemed prudent in those exciting times. 
She was commanded by Captain John W. Cannon, who died 
in Frankfort, Ky., in 1882. There was great rivalry between 
the boats, and when the Natchez made her great run Captain 
Cannon determined to beat it. He stripped the Lee for the 
race, removed all parts of her upper works which were calcu- 
lated to catch the wind, removed all rigging and outfit that 
could be dispensed with to lighten her ; engaged the steamer 
Frank Pargoud to precede her a hundred miles up the river 
to supply coal ; arranged with coal yards to have fuel flats 
awaiting her in the middle of the river at given points and be 
taken in tow under way until the coal could be transferred to 
the decks of the Lee, and then to cut loose and float back. 
He refused all business of every kind and would receive no 
passengers. The Natchez returned to New Orleans and 
received a few tons of freight and a few passengers and 
was advertised to leave for St. Louis on June 30. In the 
afternoon the Robert E. Lee backed out from the levee, and 
five minutes later the Natchez followed her. The whole 
country watched the race with breathless interest, as it had 
been extensively advertised by the press, and the telegraph 
attended its progress along the river at every point. At all 
the principal cities — Natchez, Vicksburg, Helena and Mem- 
phis — people for many miles were present to see the racers 
pass, and the time of passing was cabled to Europe. When 
Cairo was reached the race was virtually ended, but the Lee 
proceeded to St. Louis, arriving there in three days, eighteen 
hours and fourteen minutes from the time she left New Or- 
leans, beating by thirty-three minutes the previous record of 



ARRIVAL OF THE BOATS AT ST. LOUIS. 



537 



the Natchez. The latter steamer run into a fog between 
St. Louis and Cairo, which delayed her more than six hours. 
It is said that 50,000 people crowded the wharf, the windows 
and the housetops to welcome the Lee on her arrival in St. 
Louis. Captain Cannon was tendered a banquet by the busi- 
ness men of the city and was generally lionized while he re- 
mained here. It was estimated that more than $1,000,000 
changed hands on the result of the great race. Many of the 
bets were withdrawn, however, on the ground that the Lee 
had been assisted the first 100 miles of the trip by the power 
of the Frank Pargoud added to her own, and many steam- 
boatmen have ever since regarded the Natchez as the faster 
boat of the two, but think she was outgeneraled in the race 
by the Lee. There was so much adverse comment afterward 
by the press that there has been no attempt since to repeat 
such a performance. — Sf. Louis Globe-Democrat. 



CHAPTER LXXII. 



BELOW are the tables of time of the Lee, Natchez and 
other boats as published in the papers of the period, and 
presumed to be correct. 



NATCHEZ. 



From New Orleans to the city of Natchez. 

Vicksburg 

Head of Thresherfield 

Napoleon 

White Kiver 

Helena 

Memphis 

Head of Island No, 10 

Hicksman 

Cairo 

St. Louis 



ROBERT E. LEE, JULY 1870. 



From New Orleans to Carrollton 

Harry Hill's 

Red Church 

Bonnet Carre 

College Point 

Donaldsonville 

Plaquemine 

Baton Rogue 

Bayou Sara 

Red River 

Stamps 

Briers 



irs. 


HOURS. 


MIN. 


• 


17 
26 


52 




28 


4 


1 


18 


15 


1 


19 


30 


2 


2 


35 


2 


9 


40 


3 






3 


1 


43 


3 


4 


24 


3 


21 


58 


srs. 


HOURS. 


MIN. 
27i 




i 


i 




1 


39 




2 


38 




3 


50 




4 


59 




7 


5 




8 


25 




10 


26 




12 


56 




13 


56 




15 


51i 



538 



Gould's history of river navigation. 



Ashley 

Natchez 

Cole's Creek 

Water Proof .... 

Rodney 

St. Joseph 

Grand Gulf 

Hard Times 

Vicksburg 

Milliken's Bend.. 

Railey's 

Lake Providence. 

Greenville 

Napoleon 

White River 

Australia 

Helena 



Memphis 2 



Island No. 37. 
Island No. 26 . . 
Island No. 14. 
New Madrid . . 
Island No. 10. 
Island No. 8... 
Lucus Bend. .. 

Cairo 

St. Louis 



AYS. 


HOURS. 


MIN 




16 


29 




17 


11 




19 


21 




19 


53 




20 


45 




21 


2 




22 


6 




22 


18 




, . 


38 




2 


37 




3 


49 




5 


47 




10 


55 




16 


22 




16 


56 




19 


, . 




23 


25 


2 


6 


9 


2 


9 




2 


15 


30 


2 


17 


23 


2 


19 


60 


2 


20 


37 


2 


21 


45 


3 






3 


1 


, , 


3 


18 


14 



Subsequent trials of speed by these boats against time be- 
tween New Orleans and Natchez did not materially change 
their previous record. 16 hours 36 minutes 47 seconds was 
claimed by the Lee, which was about 11 minutes better than 
the Natchez claimed. The speed of the two boats developed 
great uniformity in performance either in long or short dis- 
tances and the friends of both claimed priority. 

from new ORLEANS TO LOUISVILLE 1,486 MILES. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

May, 1815, steamer Enterprise made the trip in 25 2 40 

April, 1817, steamer Washington made the trip in... 25 . . 

Sept., 1817, steamer Shelby made the trip in 20 4 20 

May, 1819, steamer Paragon made the trip in 18 10 

Nov., 1828, steamer Tecuraseh made the trip in 8 4 

April, 1834, steamer Tuscarora made the trip in 7 18 

Nov., 1837, steamer General Brown made the trip in. 6 22 

Nov., 1837, steamer Randolph made the trip in 6 28 

Nov., 1837, steamer Empress made the trip in 6 17 

Dec, 1837, steamer Sultana made the trip in G 15 

April, 1840, steamer Edward Shippen made the trip in 5 14 

April, 1842, steamer Belle of the West made the trip in G 14 

April, 1843, steamer Duke of Orleans made the trip in 5 23 

April, 1844, steamer Sultana made the trip in 5 12 

May, 1849, steamer Bostona made the trip in 5 8 

June, 1851, steamer Belle Key made the trip in 4 23 

May, 1852, steamer Reindeer made the trip in 4 20 45 

May, 1852, steamer Eclipse made the trip in 4 18 

May, 1853, steamer A. L. Shotwell made the trip in.. 4 10 20 



ECLIPSE CLAIMED TO BE THE FASTEST BOAT. 



539 



The next year, the steamer Eclipse, E. T. Sturgeon, Mas- 
ter, made the quickest time on record ; and when we take 
into consideration the low water, swift current, and other 
obstacles she met with, we may safely set her down as the 
fastest boat in the world. 

eclipse's time in 1853 from new Orleans to — 



DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 



Donaldsonville 

Baton Rouge 

Natchez 

Grand Gulf. , 

Vicksburg 

Columbia 

Napoleon 

Helena 2 

Memphis 2 

Cairo 3 

Evansville 3 

Louisville . 4 



5 


42 


9 


27 


19 


46 


24 


25 


28 


11 


40 


8 


44 


12 


3 


38 


9 


55 


4 


4 


18 


24 


9 


30 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO ST. LOUIS — DISTANCE 1,200 MILES. 



DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

3 23 



1844, steamer J. M. White made the trip in 

FROM NEW ORLEANS TO NATCHEZ DISTANCE 300 MILES 



DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 



May, 1814, steamer New Orleans made the trip in... 6 

July, 1814, steamer Comet made the trip in 5 

May, 1815, steamer Enterprise made the trip in 4 

April, 1817, Steamer Washington made the trip in. . . 4 

Sept., 1817, Steamer Shelby made the trip in 3 

May, 1819, steamer Paragon made the trip in 3 

Nov., 1828, steamer Tecumseh made the trip in 3 

April, 1834, steamer Tuscarora made the trip in 1 

Aug., 1838, steamer Natchez made the trip in 1 

Aug., 1840, steamer Edward Shippen made the trip in. 1 
Aug., 1842, steamer Belle of the West made the trip in. 1 
Aug., 1844, steamer Old Sultana made the trip in. . . . 

Aug., 1851, steamer Magnolia made the trip in 

May, 1853, steamer A. L. Shotwell made the trip in.. 
May, 1853, steamer Southern Belle made the trip in.. 
May, 1853, steamer Princess No. 4 made the trip in.. 

May, 1853, steamer Eclipse made the trip in 

Aug., 1855, steamer New Princess made the trip in.. . 
Aug., 1855, steamer New Natchez made the trip in. .. 



6 


40 


10 




11 


20 


20 


.. 


8 




1 


20 


21 




17 


.. 


8 




18 




19 


45 


19 


50 


19 


49 


20 


3 


20 


26 


19 


47 


18 


53 


17 


30 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO CAIRO, SOUTH OF THE OHIO RIVER 

DISTANCE 1,000 MILES. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

May, 1853, steamer Eclipse made the trip in 3 4 4 

May, 1853, steamer A. L. Shotwell made the trip in... 3 3 40 



540 



Gould's history of river navigation. 



FROM LOUISVILLE TO CINCINNATI DISTANCE 150 MILES. 



DAYS 

1818, steamer General Pike made the trip in 1 

1819, steamer Paragon made the trip in 1 

1822, steamer Wheeling Packet made the trip in 1 

1837, steamer Moselle made the trip in 

1843, steamer Duke of Orleans made the trip in 

1843, steamer Congress made the trip in 

1846, steamer Benj. Franklin No. 6 made the trip in. . . 
1852, steamer Alleghany made the trip in 

1852, steamer Pittsburgh made the trip in * . . 

1853, steamer Telegraph No. 3 made the trip in 



FROM LOUISVILLE TO ST. LOUIS DISTANCE 750 MILES. 



'S. 


HOURS. 


MINUTES 


1 


16 




1 


14 


20 


1 


10 
12 
12 


• • 




12 


20 




11 


45 




10 


38 




10 


23 




9 


52 



1843, steamer Congress made the trip in. . . 
1854, steamer Pike made the trip in 

1854, steamer Northerner made the trip in. 

1855, steamer Southerner made the trip in . 



DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

. .. 49 

. .. 47 

. .. 46 30 

. .. 43 



"The following table shows the progressive improvement 

in the speed of boats from New Orleans to Louisville, dis- 
tance fourteen hundred and eighty miles, from 1815 to 1853: — 

DAYS. HOURS. .MINUTES. 

May, 1815 — Enterprise 25 2 40 

April, 1817 — Washington 25 

September, 1817 — Shelby 20 4 20 

May, 1819 — Paragon 18 10 

November, 1828 — Tecumseh 8 4 

April, 1834 — Tuscarora 7 16 

November, 1837 — General Brown 6 22 

November, 1837 — Randolph 6 22 

November, 1837 — Empress 6 17 

December, 1837 — Sultana 6 15 

April, 1840 — Edward Shippen ■ 5 14 

April, 1842 — Belle of the West 6 14 

April, 1843— Duke of Orleans 5 23 

April, 1844 — Sultana 5 12 

May, 1849- Bostona 5 8 

June, 1851 — Belle Key 4 23 

May, 1852 — Reindeer 4 20 45 

May, 1852 — Eclipse 4 19 

May, 1853 — A. L. Shotwell 4 10 20 

May, 1853— Eclipse 4 9 30 

The Eclipse's was the best time up to that date, averaging 
fourteen miles an hour." 



ARRIVAL OF THE WASHINGTON AT LOUISVILLE. 



541 



CHAPTEK LXXIII. 

IT was reserved to the steamboat Washington (says Commo- 
dore Preble), Captain Henry M. Shreve,to demonstrate by 
a second voyage of twenty-five days, from New Orleans to 
Louisville, that a steamboat could a^end this river in at least 
one-fourth the time required by the keel-boats and barges 
hitherto in exclusive use. 

At a public dinner given to Captain Shreve at Louisville on 
his return, he predicted that the time would come when his 
twenty-five day trip would be made in ten. It has since been 
made in four days and nine hours." 

'* In 1823 there were public rejoicings at Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, when a steamboat arrived there in fifteen days and six 
hours from New Orleans. 

The captain answering a complimentary toast gravely stated 
the voyage might be made in fifteen days, or six hours 'ess 
than he had just made. Within twenty years the voyage was 
actually performed in a few hours over four days." 

FROM NEW ORLEANS TO NATCHEZ — 268 MILES. 



1814, 
1844, 
1815, 
1817, 
1817, 
1819, 
1828, 
1834, 
1838, 
1840, 
1842, 
1844, 
1851, 
1853, 
1853, 
1853, 
1853, 
1855, 
1855, 
.1856, 
1870, 
18S0, 



DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 



Orleans made the run 6 

Comet made the run, 5 

Enterprise made the run 4 

Washington 4 

Shelby 3 



Paragon. 

Tecumseh 

Tuscarora 

Natchez 

Edward Shippen.. 
Belle of the West, 

Sultana 

Magnolia 

A. S. Shotwell.... 
Southern Belle.... 

Princess No. 4 

Eclipse 

Princess (new) 

Natchez (new) 

Princess (new).... 

Natchez , 

Rob't E. Lee 



6 
10 
11 

20 
8 
1 
21 
17 
8 
18 
19 
19 
19 
20 
20 
19 
18 
17 
17 
17 
17 



40 
20 



46 
50 
49 
13 
26 
47 
53 
30 
30 
17 
II 



The third J. M. White has a record of 7 hours and 40 min 
utes to Baton Rouge — making landings at Donaldsonville and 
Plaquemine. This beats all other records. 



542 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO CAIRO 1,024 MILES. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

1844, J. M. White made the ruu 3 6 44 

1852, Reindeer made the run 3 12 45 

1853, Eclipse made the run 3 4 4 

1853, A. S. Shotwell 3 3 40 

1869, Dexter 3 6 20 

1870, Natchez 3 4 34 

1870, E. E. Lee 3 1 

FROM NEW ORLEANS TO DONALDSONVILLE. 

HOURS. MINUTES. 

1852, A. S. Shotwell 5 42 

1852, Eclipse 5 42 

1854, Snltaua, 5 12 

1856, Princess 4 51 

1860, Atlantic 5 11 

1860, Gen'l Quitman 5 6 

1865, Ruth 4 43 

1870, R.E.Lee 4 59 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO ST. LOUIS 1,218 MILES. 



DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 



1844, J. M.White.. 3 23 

1849, Missouri 4 19 

1859, Imperial 4 17 

1863, Ruth 4 9 

1866, City of Alton 4 20 

1869, Dexter 4 9 

1870, Natchez 3 21 

1870, R.E.Lee . 3 18 



58 
14 



MEMPHIS TO CAIRO. 

HOURS. MINUTES. 

1865, MoUie Able 19 25 

1866, City of Alton, 17 41 

1868, Rob't E. Lee 16 37 

FROM CINCINNATI TO PITTSBURGH — 490 MILES. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

1850, Telegraph No. 2 1 17 

1851, Buckeye State 1 16 

1852, Pittsburgh 1 15 

FROM ST. LOUIS TO ALTON — 25 MILES. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

1853, Altouna 1 35 

1876, Golden Eagle 1 37 

1876, War Eagle 1 37 

FROM ST. LOUIS TO KEOKUK — 214 MILES. 



1859, Louisiana. 



DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 
16 20 



FASTEST TIME BY DIFFERENT BOATS. 543 



LOUISVILLE TO MADISON. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

Telegraph 3 24 

Alvin Adams 3 27 

Jacob Strader 3 12 

FROM ST. LOUIS TO ST. PAUL — 800 MILES. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTKS. 

1868, Hawkeye State 2 20 

ST. LOUIS TO LA SALLE. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

1854, Steamer Cataract' 23 45 

(making Ave landings.) 
1854, Steamer Garden City 

FROM ST LOUIS TO ST. JOSEPH — 600 MILES. 

DAYS. HOURS. MINUTES. 

1853, Polar Star 2 16 

1856, James H. Lucas 2 12 52 

OLD TIME STEAMBOATS. 

In the New Orleans Picayune of April, 1838, is the follow- 
ing paragraphs : — 

UNPRECEDENTED SPEED. 

" Who would believe that a boat could make a trip from this 
port to Louisville and back in ten days and seventeen hours? 
Yet this has been done. That splendid steamer, the Empress, 
Capt. Robt. McConnell, arrived here yesterday from Louis- 
ville in four days and eight hours. 

Her up trip was made in six days and nine hours. Deduct- 
ing all delays for wooding, etc., the actual running time was 
only eight days and nine hours, a distance of 3,120 miles, 
averaging fifteen and one-half miles an hour. 

On the 19th of June the same year the same paper makes 
this announcement : — 

Unprecedented Speed. — The steamer Monarch made her 
last trip from this port to Louisville in six days and one hour, 
that being eight hours quicker than ever before made. If the 
time of detention had been deducted the trip would have been 
made in five and one-half davs." 



544 Gould's history of river navigation. 

On the 7th of July, same year, the same paper makes this 
announcement : — 

The Fastest Boat. — The steamboat Diana, Capt. Frank 
Carter, has eclipsed every other boat on Western waters, hav- 
ing made her last trip from this port to Louisville in five days 
and twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes, the quickest 
trip ever yet made. For this feat she gets a premium of 
$500 in gold from the Post-Office Department, that sum hav- 
ing been offered to the boat that should make the run within 
six days. 



CHAPTER LXXIY. 

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TRANSPORTATION CO. 

COTEMPORARY with the organization of the Atlantic and 
Mississippi Steamship Co. in 1866 the above company or 
the *' Barge Line," as it is familiarly known, was formed, and 
Capt. Joab Lawrence and Barton Able, good practical boat- 
men, were elected its first Presidents. 

It started its first tow of barges to New Orleans on the 
first day of Apr-il, 1866, and as its success was a matter of 
grave doubt in the minds of many, some were skeptical enough 
to say in derision, " the day was ominous of the result of the 
enterprise." But some of its projectors were more sanguine 
and persevered through the earlier embarrassments of a new 
mode of transportation, and as the times were prosperous and 
money was abundant from the results of the war, the company 
soon re-asserted itself and came to the front, with George H. 
Rea as its third President. H. C. Haarstick, Vice-President 
and Superintendent, Austm R. Moore, Secretary. 

The shipments of bulk grain rapidly increased and the suc- 
cess of the company was so great another company was or- 
ganized in 1880, called St. Louis and New Orleans Transpor- 
tation Company, Capt. Henry Lowry, President. 

At this time the bulk grain shipments had assumed such pro- 
portions the argus eye of Jay Gould and the Wabash system 
of railroads centering at St. Louis, with their usual sagacity 
and enterprise saw an opening they were not slow to avail 
themselves of. Consequently they joined Capt. Lowry and 
the result was the St. Louis and New Orleans Transportation 
Company, with a capital to at once enter the field of com- 
petitors for the business of the Mississippi Valley Co. 

The foreign demand for the products of the Mississippi 



BARGE LINE AND WABASH RAILROAD SYSTEM. 545 

Valley had increased the tow-boat and barge tonnage to such 
an extent that as soon as that demand fell off, or short crops 
of grain were realized, there was a collapse in the barge busi- 
ness and the stock that had been above par was soon a drug 
in the market, and some companies with small capital were 
sold out. The two principal companies located at St. Louis 
soon recognized the result of a lierce competition, which 
seemed imminent, and consolidated their stock and formed a 
new company called the St. Louis and Mississippi Valley 
Transportation Co., simply adding St. Louis to the former 
name. This company was organized with a capital of 
$2,000,000 and elected nine directors, four of which, R, S. 
Hays, H. M. Hoxie, A. A. Talmage and George C. Gault, 
represented the Wabash and Missouri Pacific Railroads. 
Capt. Lowry was made Vice-President and H. C. Haarstick, 
President. The company then owned some ten or twelve fine 
powerful tow-boats, and about 100 barges, some of which had 
a capacity of 1,500 tons. 

This was about double the tonnage there was business for, 
and of course, the surplus was retired which could not have 
been easily done if under the control of two distinct compa- 
nies. Thus was illustrated the secret of the success ot this com- 
pany. A system that would have saved from bankruptcy 
many an organized steamboat company in the past as well as 
individual companies. Under the shrewd and judicious man- 
agement of Mr. Haarstick the company has continued to pros- 
per and maintain an excellent line of boats and barges nn- 
equaled on any waters in the world of commerce — adequate 
at all times to supply the demand on the Mississippi, except 
when interrupted by ice or low water. 

Although two of the company's original projectors and 
large stockholders, Messrs. Rea and Lowrey, have crossed the 
dark river and launched their " gilt-edged " barques on un- 
known waters, the company under the management of Pres- 
ident Haarstick and his long tried and efficient corps of assis- 
tants, is conducting a legitimate and what seems to be a safe 
and satisfactory business, with less to fear from ruinous com- 
petition than any other line of transportation on Western 
waters. 

About the time this barge company was organized there 
was a great cry throughout the country for cheap freights and 
many were visionary enough to suppose barge transportation 
was the panacea that would forever settle that question and 
establish a '* thorough grain " system of transportation which 
seemed to involve all problems in that connection. " If 

35 



546 Gould's history of river navigation. 

barge transportation vras practicable on the Mississippi and 
the Ohio Rivers there could be no reason why it should not be 
a success on all others," and in the imagination of enthusi- 
asts, barges were to be used by every farmer living near a 
water-course, and by that mode of transportation every prod- 
uct of the country was to reach a market at a mere nomi- 
nal cost. 

Even business men living on the Missouri River were so 
sanguine of the success of this new idea that thev could not 
be made to understand that the character of navigation had 
anything to do with it. And such was their enthusiasm and 
persistency coupled with the influence of newspapers, the 
St. Louis and New Orleans Barge Co. was induced to send a 
small tow of barges to Kansas City to take out a load of bulk 
grain. By great care and a favorable stage of water they 
succeeded in making one trip, but never ventured upon another 
nor did ever any other company attempt it. 

The following extracts from newspapers of that day will, 
to some extent, illustrate the feeling that prevailed in some 
parts of the valley : — 

BARGES vs. CHEAP FREIGHT. 

Is it true, Mr. Editor, that the friends of the "barge 
movement " in this city, and the public generally, expected in 
the organization of that company to reduce the cost of trans- 
portation to a mere nominal sum, or say to *' one-half what 
they are now charging." 

By an article in the columns of the St. Louis Democrat of 
the 29th ult., I see '' the public have been greatly disappointed 
because they assumed, and had a right to assume when this 
company was organized, that it meant loar to the knife against 
high rates of freight . ' ' 

If that was the case, I do not believe the public have been 
more disappointed than have the stockholders. I think the 
barge company have demonstrated — what the commercial 
editor of the Democrat seems incapable of understanding — 
that it costs money to transport freight, even in barges ; and 
further, that the company was not organized entirely for the 
purpose of benefiting the farmer and the producer, or for 
*' carrying out this through grain movement." 

But as this writer proposes to "prepare an article which 
willnot only benefit the barge line, but be of much use in aid- 
ing on the through grain movement," the}' ought not to despair 
of success, even though the public are only " sympathizers." 
But when they can make money for their stockholders by 



ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE. 547 

<;arrying freight " a< half vjJiat tJiey are now cliarging,'' on 
this stage of water, they will not only have the sympathy of 
the public, but their " overt acts," and will not present that 
*' pitiable" appearance as when carrying freights "but^?.'e 
cents per barrel under steamboat rates." 

The expose made by the Secretary of the barge company 
in his article in the Democrat of the 29th, does not seem to 
satisfy this champion of cheap freights, and he persists in 
knowing from him, in so many words, why they do not fix a 
loiv and uniform rate and not play second fiddle to steam- 
boats. 

AVhile I have no interest in the barge company I have some 
sympathy with them, and believe the statement made by the 
Secretary is quite explicit enough to suit the stockholders, 
if it does not satisfy this expert in cheap freights. But I 
have no desire to provoke discussion with any one who has but 
a single idea upon the subject, or who can see but one side of it. 

This writer seems to have the subject of cheap freights ' ' upon 
the brain," and to him it makes no difference what other in- 
terests are sacrificed, if cheap freights are secured. He would 
break down old and responsible packet companies, that have 
done more lo build up the interests of this city, than a regi- 
ment of such writers would in a century. He would destroy 
the business of our splendid freight and passenger steamers, 
and lay them to thd shore to decay, while their owners and 
the thousands of employes and mechanics that are supported 
by them, are forced to leave the city they helped to build 
and seek new homes and new occupations. Still his zeal is 
commendable, but zeal without knowledge, St. Paul concluded, 
— , was not profitable, and I believe it is equally true in the 
present day. * 

What is proposed to be gained to this city by cheap freight? 
Who are to be the especially benefited? Upon general prin- 
ciples cheap freights are always desirable, all other things be- 
ing equal. 

Any man at all conversant with commercial transactions for 
the last two years will not contend for a moment that river 
transportation has been high in any direction, or compara- 
tively so. But on the contrary low, too low, much lower than 
it could profitably be done for, even hy the barge company — 
and who has been benefited — not the consumer. It has not re- 
duced the cost of living, neither has it increased the profit of the 
merchant or the mechanic ; but it has laid to the shore many 
fine boats and barges, and left in idleness thousands of build- 
ers and operatives upon all our rivers. 



548 Gould's history of river navigation. 

If the products of the country cannot afford to pay trans- 
portation to market, except by barges, which are expected to 
be run exclusively for the benefit of the farmer and producer, 
they certainly cannot afford to pay commissions and hand- 
ling at intermediate ports, and hence cannot contribute very 
largely in building up the interests of " this beautiful, and is 
to be, mighty city" this writer speaks of. 

The system of elevators that is now being inaugurated 
along our rivers, will do much to reduce the cost of handling 
products of the country, as well as to reduce commissions and 
the labor heretofore necessary to handle it. 

This, togetherwith the rapidly increasing railroad facilities, 
and insane competition among steamboats, saying nothing 
about the barge competition, will be satisfactory to the 
producer and consumer, I presume, even though it does not 
succeed '*in aiding this through grain movement" to pass 
down our river without some small portion of it being landed 
at our wharf and warehouses. E. W. Gould. 



river freights — steamboat vs. barge transportation ► 

Editor of the Times: Can you tell " who killed the goose 
that laid the ijolden eofg? " The Times, in common with its 
contemporaries, has for the last few years been laudably en- 
ffa^ed in advocatins; the " throuo-h o;rain movement," as it is 
termed, by means of towboats and barges. That system has 
been adopted, and is now in successful operation, if we are to 
believe the half we road in the papers in regard to the expense 
of carrying grain in bulk. 

And now let us see what has been the consequent result, so 
far as St. Louis is concerned. From the day the barge com- 
pany was fully and systematically inaugurated, transportation 
to New Orleans by the ordinary steamboat mode has been 
rapidly declining, until now, and for the past two years, it has 
hardly been possible to load two boats per week, and them not 
with any regularity. Go where you may, among shippers in^ 
the city or along the whole line of the river, in Texas, or at 
ports receiving supplies through New Orleans, and you hear 
the same complaints: " What has become of the St. Louis 
boats? " " Will my freight never arrive?" *' Why is there 
no regularity as in former times? " " You, the present class 
of boatmen, have no enterprise — no get up." "You are 
driving all our trade to the Ohio River and other places." 
'*The trade we have so long enjoyed, and which St. Louis 



WHAT HAS BECOME OF ST. LOUIS STEAMBOATS? 549 

lias grown rich from, is leaving us for the want of proper 
shipping facilities," etc. 

Since the introduction of railroads, by which most of the 
travel goes, it is idle to talk about sending boats out regularly 
or frequently, unless they have something to go with — some- 
thing to carry. 

The cost of making a trip to New Orleans and return is no 
mean consideration, and there are but few men now in the 
business that are able, if disposed, to run their boats for the 
benefit of St. Louis or of the public. 

Now, through the influence of the press and the indomit- 
able perseverance of the very worthy representatives of the 
barge company, that enterprise has been placed upon a basis 
that is said to be beyond the possibility of failure so long as 
the country produces grain for export. 

Now the practical question arises, Can the press, can ship- 
pers, do anything to restore the prestige once enjoyed by 
steamboats, and thereby secure the facilities all are clamoring 
for? 

I contend they can do all that is necessary without injury to 
the barge interest or any other. 

By reference to the receipts in New Orleans I think it will 
be seen that the barges deliver more package freight there, in 
addition to their bulk grain, than St. Louis steamboats do, 
while the price is the same by both modes. 

Heretofore it has been claimed there was not enough bulk 
grain to make up a tow in reasonable time. That claim, if 
•ever valid, is no longer so. It has also been pretended that 
barges could not be loaded with bulk grain alone; that it was 
necessary to have package freight to give them a load. This 
is a fallacy that needs no proof to practical men. To be sure, 
if it is admitted that all the barges that are brought here, and 
all that barge companies are disposed to buy or build, must 
be kept in use while steamboats are compelled to lay and wait 
for the accommodation of certain kinds of freight that barges 
do not want, or for landings they cannot profitably make, then 
indeed may shippers who desire to see revived and success- 
fully continued the former regularity and promptness in the 
New Orleans trade forever abandon the expectation. 

If this patronage, this preference for barge transportation, 
ever was necessary to insure its successful introduction, such 
is no longer the case. I am assured by parties in New Or- 
leans and others, that the bulk grain trade is only limited by 
the supply and the facilities that are afforded for handling it. 

Here, then, is a field quite large enough to satisfy the most 



550 Gould's history of river navigation. 

zealous advocate for "the through orrain trade," and to orive 
employment to all the barge companies St. Louis has need of. 

After what has been said the remedy for restoring the " old 
goose" to life will readily suggest itself. Let shippers and 
businessmen remember that if they want prompt and reliable 
facilities afforded, by which they can accommodate their south- 
ern patrons, they must unite in supporting such a class of 
boats as experience has shown can and will do it. 

E. W. Gould. 

St. Louis, November 23, 1877. 

BARGE transportation. 

St. Louis, November 29, 1880. 

Editor Times: "It never rams unless it pours" is an 
old saying, and never more true than when applied to steam- 
boatmen. 

It may not be peculiar to them, but it certainly is true when 
applied to them. 

They are like sheep going over a fence. When one starts 
they all follow without knowing where they are to land. 

If any man can tell what use all the barges now built, and 
under contract at the present time, are to be put to, he is 
gifted, as Captain Beasley would say. 

Every yard from Cairo to Pittsburgh is crowded with barge 
building, or, in consequence, of the large number of barges 
beino- built at other vards. 

These barges are generally of the largest class, some of 
which havea capacity of from 1,400 to 1,800 tons, which is as 
much or more than the average Cincinnati and St. Louis and 
New Orleans steamboats carry. 

Including what barges have been built during the past sum- 
mer and now under contract, the aggregate will be quite fifty,, 
probably more. 

And what use is this 70,000 tons increased tonnage capacity 
to be put to? Transportation of bulk grain principally, of 
course. 

The last year has been one of the most productive ever 
known in the West. And the short crop in Europe has 
created a demand for this surplus. And a large amount of 
this surplus grain has gone forward in bulk via New Orleans 
and other ports. 

Not being in the business I do not, of course, know how 
much more than a fair margin of profit has been made by 
those who have handled this srrain. 



CHEAP FREIGHTS THE WATCHWORD. 551 

But I do know that there has been no scarcity of tonnage 
except for a very small portion of the year. And the low 
rate of freight that has generally prevailed is conclusive evi- 
dence that an increase of 50 per cent, in the tonnage will 
reduce the rate below a possible margin, unless the demand 
for transportation is far beyond any reasonable expectation. 

The large amount of railroad freight otferins has of course 
tended to keep up prices by rail. Still statistics show that 
while exportations via New Orleans of bulk grain have been 
largely increased, by far the larger amount has been shipped 
via Northern ports, notwithstanding the high price of railroad 
and canal freights. 

If railroad freights are scarce, it is fair to conclude they 
will always be strong competitors for bulk grain as well as 
for every other class of freight. 

Ocean freights from Northern ports must always rule very 
much lower than from New Orleans; not so much on account 
of distance, as from the passenger travel and importations, 
of which New Orleans furnishes very little. 

Hence the conclusion seems inevitable that notwithstanding 
the improvement at the mouth of the Mississippi, whereby 
vessels of the largest class can pass out to sea, fully loaded, 
there are many reasons for concluding the tonnage on the 
river may be increased far beyond any legitimate demand for 
many years to come. 

" Cheap freights," is the commercial watchword, the world 
over, but why it should always be at the expense of those 
engaged in water transportation, remains for them to decide. 

With very few exceptions, from the earliest date of 
" steamboating " on the waters of the Mississippi Valley, to 
the present time, there has been no legitimate business that 
has paid so small a remuneration for the capital invested, as 
it has ; and the indications are that barge transportation will 
farm no exception, Jay Gould to the contrary notwith- 
standing. E. W. Gould. 

CHEAP TRANSPORTATION ON THE MISSOURI. 

St. Louis, December 18, 1873. 
To the Editor of the Globe: 

In accordance with your request, I will attempt briefly to 
give you the result of my experience and observation in regard 
to the navigation of the Missouri river, and especially as to the 
practicability of establishing "barge lines" there, to create 
** cheap transportation." I have not unfrequently attempted 



552 Gould's history' or river navigation. 

to show the impracticability of that system of transportation 
under existing circumstances, but have been met with the ac- 
cusation that my interests were prejudicial to the introduction 
of barge transportation, and hence no fair or unbiased conclu- 
sions need be expected from me. 

The Missouri River Packet Company have built and navigated 
barges on that stream successfully, in the prosecution of their 
business, during low water ; not with tow boats, but with their 
freight and passenger boats, for the purpose of lighting 
freight over shoal bars. But that does not prove the practi- 
cability of using barges as a system of cheap transportation. 

This company could, and doubtless would, use regular tow- 
boats in their business if experience or observation showed 
them to be better adapted than those now in use. 

Two things at least are now essentially necessary to warrant 
the success of barge transportation on the Missouri River. 
The first is the improvement of the river by the removal of 
snags, wrecks, etc., saying nothing about dredging the shoaler 
bars. Both of which are practicable, and demand the atten- 
tion of our members of Congress. The second is, protection 
of those articles of commerce naturally seeking a market 
through water transportation. 

At present railroad competition is such as to render it utterly 
impossible for any system of water transportation on this 
river to compete with it — as demonstrated by the prices 
charged during the latter year or two from St. Joseph, Coun- 
cil Bluffs and other points to St. Louis and Chicago. It is a 
well known fact that corn, oats and other heavy freights, have 
been carried by rail, during the whole summer, from these 
and other points, at twenty-five cents per 100 pounds, and 
for fifteen cents from Kansas City and other places. From 
the latter point to St. Louis by water is near 500 miles, and 
from St. Joe 660, and from Council Bluffs 800. If the cry of 
" cheap transportation " is not silenced by these rates, it is 
not necessary to look to the river for relief, under any condi- 
tion of improvement. And until these cheap and bulky ar- 
ticles of freight shall have been largely increased in their 
production, or railroads find more profitable use for their 
stock, it would seem hardly necessary to inaugurate barge 
lines or any other cheaper mode of transportation. 

In order to insure success in barge transportation, I appre- 
hend a depth of at least five feet of water to be necessary on 
such streams as the Missouri, even after the snags, wrecks, 
etc., are removed. But out of the nine months of navigation, 
which is about the average time in that river, there are not 



HENRY T. BLOW AND THE WINDOM COMMITTEE. 553 

more than four months the water will average tive feet in the 
channel. The balance of the time it varies from three and 
a half to four and a half feet, take one year with another. 
While I am willing to admit the practicability and economy of 
barge transportation on some rivers, and under some circum- 
stances, I am not prepared to indorse it as the best or most 
economical means of securing "cheap transportation," under 
all circumstances. 

I will venture the prediction, that when the Mississippi 
River is so improved as to insure a channel depth of eight, 
feet water between St. Louis and New Orleans (which is con- 
sidered practicable), the present system of transportation by 
barges, for miscellaneous freights, will be considered among 
that class of steamboats, the Hon. Henry T. Blow said before 
the Windom Committee, " belonged to another age, and 
ought to be burned up." 

While I do not indorse Mr. Blow as to the disposition that 
should be made of these boats or barges, yet I am satisfied that 
they will be superseded b}^ a class of steamboats better adapted 
to insure cheap transportation than any system of barge 
transportation yet known. 

Did it ever occur to you, Mr. Editor, there were two sides 
to this question of cheap transportation? 

It sounds to me a good deal like a hobby, upon which 
political aspirants, public speakers, and newspaper writers 
generally, mount to catch the sympathy of those who so 
generally respond to the sentiment of " cheap transportation." 

As a rule, I admit the necessity of cheap transportation, 
all things being equal. But there is a very important distinc- 
tion between what might be considered cheap transportation 
and a fair remunerative rate. It must be admitted that the car- 
rier is as much entitled to a fair compensation for his capital 
and labor as is the farmer or producer. We never hear the 
latter abused for askino; tiuo or three prices for anvthins: he 
has to sell, if the market justifies it, however much it may 
<listress the poor family that is obliged to pay it. 

But if the carrier advanced his rate under the law of supply 
and demand, or to what he claims to be a remunerative rate, 
there is no language too strong to express what the public 
are pleased to call extortion and monopoly. 

With very few exceptions, I am satisfied that the producing 
classes of this country have been far better paid for their capi- 
tal and labor than have any transportation companies in the 
last five years. The evidence of that is too apparent to need 
further demonstration. 



554 GOULD'S HISTORY OF KIVER NAVIGATION. 

Still the Avhole country is almost in arms for " cheaper 
transportation," and a war against public carriers is a popular 
sentiment to-day. 

The carry iug trade of this country is represented by hun- 
dreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. Look at the 
reports and balance sheets of this great interest, and at the 
number of idle railroad cars, steamboats and barges that arc 
depreciating at the rate of from 15 to 20 per cent, per annum,, 
saying nothing about the thousands of employes that arc idle, 
and their families suftering for the necessaries of life. We 
hear of occasional " strikes " among these operatives, which 
are denounced by the public in unmeasured terms. But 
nothing is more popular than "farmers' granges" and 
'* trade-unions " all over the country, and, agreeably to my 
understanding, the objects of both are about the same. 

SureW, consistency, thou art a jewel. But I am digressing 
from the question, and if 1 have said enough for you to under- 
stand my views of barge transportation on the Missouri or 
other streams, your questions are answered. And I trust we 
may have the continued co-operation of the Globe in our ef- 
forts to secure such improvements on all our navigable rivers 
as will justify the public in demanding cheap transportation. 

E. W. Gould. 

BARGE TRANSPORTATION ON THE MISSOURI RIVER. 

Editor RepuhUcan. T am glad to again see the Kansas- 
City papers teeming with articles on the subject of barge lines,, 
barge companies and barge transportation from Kansas City 
South. 

There has been a spasmodic effort periodically for several) 
years past made by those papers to induce parties to establish 
such lines for the transportation of grain in bulk to St. Louis, 
and there has been no lack of encouragement from those 
claiming to be *' old, practical steamboat, barge and tiat-boat 
men,'' ready to indorse the entire practicability of such an 
enterprise. 

I am also gratified to see that the Republican has taken U[> 
the subject and is contributing its influence to so important a 
matter. 

Not that I have a particle of faith in any practical good that 
will result from this present eflbrt, more than in all previous 
ones, so far as the establishing of a successful line of barges is 
concerned. But if persisted in, as I trust it will be, the 
object may be accomplished after a while. And why not now?' 
you may ask. 



NO PRICE FOR FREIGHT TO JUSTIFY BAROE TRANSPORTATION. 555 

If you will V>ear with me a little, I will repeat what I have 
often said before. Simply because it is entirely impracti- 
cable, and for several reasons, some of which I will briefly 
enumerate. The first and principal one is, the river is not in 
condition to make it possible to navigate a tow of loaded 
barges in an ordinary stage of water, much less in a low stage 
which usually prevails from the opening of navigation until 
the first of May, and from September 1, to the close of navi- 
gation. 

I make this assertion without fear of successful contradic- 
tion from any practical tow-boatman or boat owners on the 
Missouri River whose opinion is entitled to con.-^ideration. I 
don't mean to say such a thing cannot be done if time and 
care enough is spent to work a single tow up and down. But 
no price will be paid for freight that will justify that. 

That beinj; admitted, further ar^'ument would seem unneces- 
sary. But to further illustrate, let us see how about high 
water. That generally continues about three months out of 
the twelve; and if in every way adapted to barge navigation, 
no sane man will contend that the profits during that short 
period Will justify establishing and running a line of barges; 
although from some estimates I have seen from these " old, 
practical boatmen," one might conclude there was a fortune 
in a single trip. 

Every one acquainted with the navigation of the Missouri 
knows to their sorrow the difficulty and danger of passing the 
bridges, even in low water, which is doubly increased in high. 
In fact, it often occurs in high water that none but the most 
powerful boats in the river can pass those draws without a 
barge, and to attempt to take a tow of barges through them 
would be madness. 

I doubt if a man of ordinary observation can be found, who 
has traveled on that river since those deadfalls have been 
built, that will dissent from this statement ; and if there is a 
responsible insurance company that will underwrite on such 
tows, it will only be at a rate that will preclude the possibil- 
ity of shipments. 

The rate of insurance on that river is always so high that 
none but the cheapest character of freight can be shipped. 
The railroad rate of freight is often less than the insurance by 
river, on all classes of merchandise. Hence, as a matter of 
course, a line of barges would have to depend upon their 
down-stream freights principally, as steamboats do now. 

After what I have said it is hardly necessary for me to at- 
tempt to show the lowest rate of freight at which a barge com- 



55(5 Gould's HifexoKY of river navigation. 

pany could live, caiTyinsj freight one way only, or say from 
Kansas City to St. Louis. 

With the large number of railroads that diverge from Kan- 
sas City, and the increased competition that would ensue, no 
price of freight could be had even from the most enthusiastic 
barge advocate that would pay a barge company under pres- 
ent circumstances. 

But there may be a condition of things that will change these 
circumstances, and hence I said at first I was glad to see the 
interest the liepiiblican, Kansas City and other papers were 
taking in this very laudable enterprise. 

COMMENCING AT THE WRONG END. 

But you have commenced at the wrong end, gentlemen, and 
will never succeed, until Congress shall have made sufficient 
provision, and improved the navigation. 

With one-half the talk that has been made to establish a 
barge line, an intluence might have been exerted upon our 
members of Congress that would have resulted in so far im- 
proving the rivers as high up as Kansas City as to make prac- 
tical barge navigation. But with the exception of an occasional 
effort on the part of some member to introduce some imprac- 
ticable measure for general improvement, we hear nothing 
said of the Missouri River, unless some railroad company pre- 
sents a bill to bridge the river, which Congress is sure to grant 
and the people indorse and no questions asked until they want 
some compensation to " break up the pool combination " of 
these same railroads. Verily, " consistency, thou arta jewel." 

But there is no use quarreling about what has been done — 
railroads and railroad bridges are good things. Both can and 
ought to be built — not to materially obstruct navigation, but 
across the Missouri they have not been so constructed. 

But the practical question now is. What is the remedy? 
What can be done to so improve navigation at once, that our 
immediate necessities can be provided for? 

I answer remove the snags and build cribs above and below 
the bridge piers at the draws, so that boats may drop or cor- 
dell through safely. This can and ought to be done at once, 
and will not cost to exceed $50,000. And it is all that is nec- 
essary to insure pretty safe navigation as high up as Kansas 
City for eight months in the year, or as long as good water 
continues. 

But as snags are constantly accumulating, of course it will 
be necessary that one snag boat should be kept patrolling the 
river most of the time during the navigable season each year. 

Now, gentlemen of the press, of the farm and the middle 



IMPORTANCE OF RIVER TRANSPORTATION. 557 

men, if you mean business, and expect to accomplish anything, 
hitch your tow-line on the right end of your barge; trim 
your sails and bear down on your Congressmen. If you can't 
make the ripple through them you might as well give up the 
ship and the barge lines. E. W. Gould. 

RARGE TRANSPORTATION ON THE MISSOURI RIVER, 

St. Louis, March 1, 1873. 
To the Editor of the Democrat: 

Kansas City and other towns along the Missouri River have 
been alive with the " barge question " for some weeks past — 
all seeming to believe that if there were barge lines established 
their freight could be transported to Southern markets at less 
than half the present cost, besides being highly remunerative 
to the enterprising projectors. In this sentiment your com- 
mercial editor seems also to sympathize. My object at this 
time is not to attempt to show the fallacy of this proposition. 
Practical men know that at present it is nothing but a fallacy. 
And merchants of experience know that freights are carried 
to-day, by rail, cheaper from Omaha and many points between 
there and St. Louis than any water transportation in America, 
except ocean and lake. But it is claimed that Nebraska and 
Kansas are to be the great grain producing States of the na- 
tion, and must have increased facilities, and that barge lines 
can alone supply the demand. We will suppose that to be 
the case for the sake of the argument; for when the products 
of the country shall have increased sufficiently to give the 
roads what business they want, rates of freight will, of course, 
be greatly increased; and without a regulator, such as the 
river may be made, the rates of freight will undoubtedly be a 
subject of just complaint. 

Now, right here, allow me to make a suggestion which, I 
believe, will do more to accomplish the object all these gen- 
tlemen have in view than the formation of a half dozen barge 
lines at the present time. Let them use half the effort to sat- 
isfy our members of Congress of the importance of river trans- 
portation that they have used to convince themselves and their 
readers of the necessity of barge lines, and they will very 
soon secure appropriations by Congress which will so improve 
the character of navigation on the Missouri that barge transpor- 
tation will be a practical thing quite as soon as the demands of 
commerce require it. They have commenced at the wrong 
end of the rope. While their zeal is commendable, it is 
" zeal without knowledjrc." The great mania for railroad 



558 Gould's history of river navigation. 

building has entirely eclipsed the impoitance of river trans- 
portation until very recently, and the people have sat quietly 
by and allowed these railroad corporations not only to 
absorb millions of the public domain, and of the people's 
hard-earned money, for which they have never returned a 
dollar, but have absolutely allowed them to place obstructions 
in the channels of our great navigable streams that will do 
more to prevent barge and steamboat navigation, or cheap 
transportation (which seems to be the great desideratum), 
than all other causes combined. When these commercial 
writers and *' cheap transportation" advocates wake up to 
the real issues, and learn what the first steps are that will 
assure the object they so much desire, we may expect to find 
them combating some of the numerous bridge schemes now 
under contemplation, which, if not soon changed in character 
will forever put a stop to not only barge transportation, but 
to every other kind except railroad. We shall find them, too, 
not only appealing to Congress for appropriations for the im- 
provement of our rivers, but insisting that every candidate 
who offers himself for Congress shall be pledged to use his 
best endeavors to secure the necessary appropriations, from 
year to year, until the great rivers of the country are made 
navigable for all kinds of water transportation. When this 
is accomplished, the barge question will be a more practical 
one for discussion. 

E. W. Gould. 



FIRST STEAMBOAT CAPTURED. 559 

CHAPTER LXXV. 

THE WAR RECORD OF STEAMBOATS. 

PROBABLY no interest in the Mississippi Valley suffered 
so much from the effects of the war as did steamboating, 
especially at the South. 

But as soon as hostilities ceased, those who still survived 
and had managed to save their boats, or could build or buy 
others, at once set to work with commendable zeal to recover 
their lost fortunes and to re-establish themselves in their re- 
spective trades, which were already being occupied to some 
extent by a class known as " carpetbaggers." 

Such, however, was the demand for transportation that for 
a year or two all that recognized the situation and had pro- 
vided themselves with boats, soon regained their former posi- 
tions, and were doing a flourishing business. But in the 
meantime the war had given their natural enemy, the rail- 
roads, a long stride towards the front, and they were rapidly 
approaching the sources from whence steamboats draw their 
sustenance, and what seemed for a while a full return of 
former prosperity only revived hopes, to be disappointed in 
the near future. 

There were but few of the regular transport steamboats at 
the South taken for gunboats. A few were purchased by the 
government and dismantled and their machinery used for pur- 
poses of defense in diff'erent parts of the country. Some were 
used for the transportation of troops and supplies, and a few 
continued to run in their legitimate trades as far north as 
Memphis, until New Orleans was caj^tured and the Mississippi 
opened. Then all that could get away followed their prede- 
cessors into the Yazoo, Red River and the Bayous. 

All that remained in the Yazoo were destroyed, either by 
one government or the other, — principally by the Confeder- 
ates and the owners of the boats, to prevent their falling into 
Federal hands. 

The boats that sought Red River and the Bayous were more 
fortunate, and many of them escaped destruction, and after 
the close of the war resumed their respective trades, as soon 
as they could be repaired, of which they were greatly in need, 
having been largely neglected for four years. 

The first steamboat captured by either party during the war 
was a little transfer boat owned at Memphis by Captains 



560 (jould's history of kiver navigation. 

Frank Smith and Reese Pritchard, called S. H. Tucker,, 
valued at two or three thousand dollars. She was captured by 
the Federal forces while laying at Columbus and taken to Cairo. 

The foUowin;^ steamboats, tow-boats, tug-boats and one 
steamship constituted the material out of which the eight Con- 
federate gunboats were constructed, that figured at Fort 
Pillow and Memphis, June 6th, 1862 : — 

Tug Propeller (remodeled), called Little Rebel, commanded! 
by Capt. Ed. Montgomery, Commodore of the fleet. 

Steamship Mexico (remodeled), Gen. Bragg, commanded by 
Capt. Wm. Leonard. 

Mary Kingsland, tow-boat (remodeled), Jeff Thompson, 
commanded by Capt. John Burke. 

Julius Bebee, tow-boat (remodeled), Sumpter, commanded 
by Capt. Wallace Lamb. 

Baltic, tow-boat (remodeled), Gen. Van Dorn, commanded' 
by Capt. Isaac Fulkerson. 

Milledon, tow-boat (remodeled), General Price, commanded' 
by Capt. James Townsend. 

Ocean, tow-boat (remodeled), Gen. Beauregard, command- 
ed by Capt. Henry Hurt. 

Hercules, tow-boat (remodeled), Col. Lovell, commanded 
by Capt. James Delacney, 

The newspapers of the day are very destitute of detailed ac- 
counts of the performance of this fleet. But it is generally 
conceded their lives as gunboats were of short duration and 
barren of important results. 

Some of them were powerful tow-boats and had previously 
been used in towing ships to and from New Orleans to the gulf. 

They were bought by the Confederate government and paid 
for in their currency at par, which at that time would buy 
cotton or anything else the South produced. They were con- 
verted into gunboats at New Orleans and were thought to be 
equal to anything they were to come in conflict with from the 
North. But the result showed they were only principally use- 
ful in skirmishes, in running small batteries and in guerrilla 
warfare. Several of them were sunk in the little fight before 
Memphis. Others were destroyed by their oflScers to avoid 
falling into the hands of the enemy. One or two got away 
and were afterwards destroyed about Port Hudson or Baton 
Rouge. 

The following is a partial list of boats which were destroyed 
during the war. While not complete, it is as perfect as pres- 
ent records furnish : — ^ 

Capital, transport, New Orleans and Bayou Sara packet. 



LIST OF BOATS CONTINUED. 561 

Ivy, was made a gunboat. She was a low pressuse tow- 
iboat. 

Gen. Polk (E. Howard), formerly transport, gunboat. 

Lexington (ferry-boat), gunboat. 

Mobile (propeller), gunboat. 

Magnolia (transport). New Orleans and Vicksburg. 

Magenta (transport). New Orleans and Vicksburg. 

J. F. Pargoud (transport). New Orleans and Ouchita. 

Prince of Wales (transport), New Orleans and Cairo. 

Peytona (transport). New Orleans and Louisville. 

Mary E. Keene (transport). New Orleans and Vicksburg. 

Acadia (transport). New Orleans and Vicksburg. 

Ferd. Kennett (transport), New Orleans and St. Louis, 

Ed. J. Gay (transport). New Orleans and St. Louis. 

Steamship Star of the West. 

Hartford City, coal tow-boat, Memphis. 

Hope, (transport), Vicksburg and Yazoo City. 

Cotton Plant (transport), Vicksburg and Yazoo City. 

Scotland (transport), St. Louis and New Orleans. 

Golden Age (transport). New Orleans and Fort Adams. 

R. J. Lackland (transport), St. Louis and New Orleans. 

John Walsh (transport), Memphis and New Orleans. 

Natchez, gunboat (formerly transport), New Orleans and 
Vicksburg. 

35th Parallel, gunboat (formerly transport). 

Dew Drop (transport), Vicksburg and Yazoo River. 

H. D. Means (transport), Vicksburg and Memphis. 

Emma Betts (transport), Sun Flower River. 

Ben McCullough (transport), Obion River. 

Alonzo Child (transport), between New Orleans and St. 
Louis, was transformed into a Confederate gunboat. 

Vicksburg (transport), between New Orleans and Vicksburg, 
was dismantled and her machinery used by the Confederates, 

Lizzie Simmons (transport). New Orleans and Ouachita, 
converted into a gunboat or ram, lost, Arkansas River. 

Wm. M. Morrison (transport), St. Louis and New Orleans, 
burned by the Confederates at the wharf. New Orleans, when 
the city surrendered. 

New Falls City (transport), sunk in Red River by the Con- 
federates, to prevent the expedition under Gen. Banks invad- 
ing Upper Red River. 

Many of the above boats were destroyed on Yazoo River, 
or its tributaries, by sinking or burning, generally, by order 
of the Confederate Government. They had been taken there 
•by their owners as a place of safety. When the Yazoo Pass 

36 



562 Gould's history of river navigation. 

was ope«ed and Vicksburg taken, they were destroyed to pre- 
vent their falling into the hands of the Federals. 

Among the larger and more valuable boats that were de- 
stroyed by the Confederates and those in sympathy with them 
and that belonged to owners outside of their lines, may be 
mentioned the following : — 

Wm. M. Morrison, laying up, New Orleans. 

Ruth, at Norfolk, loaded for New Orleans (incendiary). 

New Falls City, sunk in Red River to obstruct channel. 

Emma, lost on Red River. 

Imperial, burned, wharf, St. Louis. 

Sky Lark, , Tennessee River. 

Claira Bell. 

Callie, — , Tennessee River. 

Tigress, sunk, Vicksburg batteries. 

Black Hawk. 

Lebanon, , Old River. 

Thomas E. Tutt, Red River, burned. 

John W. Cheesman, burned, Tennessee River. 

Dacotah, burned at Paducah. 

City Belle, burned, Red River. 

Julius H. Smith, burned, Cumberland River. 

Ashland. 

R. B. Hamelton, torpedo. Mobile Bay. 

West Wind, burned at Glasgow, Mo. 

Alice Dean, burned by Morgan at Brandenburg, Ky., after 
crossing his cavalry on their great raid. 

Mdzeppa and barges, burned on Tennessee River. 

Rose Douglass, Little Rock, Chester Ashley, Daniel B. 
Miller, Violet, Cedar Rapids, all burned on the Arkansas, 
battle of Arkansas Post. 

St. Francis No. 2, burned on White River. 

Lake City, burned by guerrillas, Carson's Landing. 

Henry Clay, destroyed at Vicksburg by the batteries at the 
time Forest Queen ran past them. 

There were other boats destroyed on different streams in 
the South. But as yet there is no complete record, either in 
the South or West, of the results of the war so far as steam- 
boats were concerned. 

But under an act of Congress the War Department is 
preparing an exhaustive record of all transactions and in- 
cidents of the war in detail, both of the Federals and Con- 
federates. 

There is a War Records Bureau which has for several years 
been devoted entirely to collecting, compiling, and printing 



DEATH OF (APT. JOHN MOLLOY 563 

these war records. When completed there will probably be 
some forty or fifty large volumes. 

As only boats of loyal citizens were employed by the govern- 
ment, except when seized and confiscated, this interest 
suffered much more at the South than in the West. Although 
in the value of the boats lost, if not in number, the West 
suffered most, principally from incendiarism and guerrillas, 
although by order of the Confederate government many were 
burned. 

After the blockade was removed on the Mississippi there 
were many boats fired into from the Confederates along shore 
from masked batteries and guerrillas, and some narrow 
escapes and many lives lost. 

Among the many attacks none are reported with more 
tragic results, or that made more narrow escapes, than did 
the large, new steamer Empress. 

She was admirably calculated for the transportation of 
troops, horses and cavalry, equipage, etc., and consequently 
she was often in the service of the government. 

On one trip from New Orleans in 1863 with 800 tons of 
sugar and molasses on board, Capt. John Molloy, master, 
when just above Island 82, she was fired into by the Con- 
federates from shore, which killed Capt. Molloy and several 
others, and so disabled the machinery that only for the assist- 
ance of one of the tin dads that were patroling the river and 
happened to be within hearing, the Empress would have been 
captured and undoubtedly destroyed, as there was among 
the passengers Gen. John McNeil and many other Federal 
officers and soldiers but no organized command. 

The boat being heavily loaded and with poor fuel was mov- 
ing very slowly. 

From some passengers who had landed at a point below, 
the Confederates learned that Gen. McNeil was on board and 
his record at Palmyra, Mo., made them anxious to become 
more intimately acquainted vvith him. The meanderings of 
the river enabled them to overtake the boat in the bend of 
the river below Gaine's Landing. Having planted their cannon 
in ambush, they waited behind the levee until the boat was 
abreast of them and not more than 300 yards distant. 

Capt. Molloy stepped out of his room in front of the pilot 
house on the first report. 

The second discharge took his head off and sent several shot 
and shell through the boat in different places. 

As it was very warm weather several lady passengers and 
some children were in the pilot house. They immediately 



564 Gould's history of river navigation. 

dropped on to the floor, and were partially shielded by the iron 
plates that were put up to protect the pilot. 

Although they partially disabled one engine, through the 
quick action of the engineer, he shipped up the full stroke 
camrod in time to keep the boat going up the river, and she 
was soon out of range of their cannon. 

But as the channel followed the shore for some distance 
their cavalry kept up with the boat and continued their rifle 
practice upon her until she was enabled to cross the river. 

When, through the assistance of the tin clad that had 
come to her relief, she was landed on the opposite shore, 
■where the dead were interred, the wounded cared for, and the 
machinery temporarily repaired, when she resumed her voyage. 

This was probably the narrowest escape Gen. McNeil ever 
had. If the boat had been captured there would have been 
no exchange of prisoners in that case. 

The Empress made many narrow escapes during the war. 

On one trip from the South a battery at Bolivar, Mississippi, 
opened upon her when she was passing there in the fog. The 
fog lifted just as she was opposite, and before the guns could 
be got into range, she had gotten so far passed that the shot 
came in only at the stern, and did but little damage, al- 
though the boilers were closely shaved. One spent ball from 
the battery was picked up in the pilot house, and carried on the 
boat as a kind of trophy or memento until the close of the war. 

After much valuable service in the Federal cause, and so 
many narrow escapes from Confederate batteries and guerrilla 
sharp-shooters, this splendid steamboat was ingloriously killed 
soon after the war by a more formidable battery in the shape 
of a sunken wreck at Island 34. 

The following graphic account appeared in the St. Louis 
Republican soon after the occurrence. Many of his numerous 
friends will still recognize the signature of the corre-pondent. 

It was from the pen of one of that paper's most reliable cor- 
respondents and one that was emploj^ed on Federal trans- 
ports during the war. This writer is under manj^ obligations 
to Mr. Moore for interesting items in this work : — 

STEAMER EMPRESS FIRED INTO NEAR GAINES' LANDING, ARK. 

TERRIBLE DAMAGE AND SLAUGHTER — GREAT CONSTERNATION 
ON BOARD FIVE PERSONS KILLED AND ELEVEN AVOUNDED. 

" The steamer Empress, en route for St. Louis, was fired 
into from the Arkansas shore, about one mile below Gaines' 
Landing, on Wednesday, the 10th inst., at 3:30 p. m. 



REMARKABLE ESCAPE OF THE STEAMER EMPRESS. 565 

The battery encountered comprised some eight guns, of six 
and twelve pound calibre, and of the most improved capacity 
for both accurate and terrible execution. The number of guns 
is derived from an estimate made by artillerists on board at 
the time. 

The battery was doubtless supported by a large force of 
infantry, variously estimated at one to two thousand. How- 
ever, of the strength of this force there could be no proper 
conjecture, except from limited information in possession of 
the gunboat officers in the vicinity. Certain it is that the boat 
encountered a perfect shower of musket balls, but which were 
seemingly regarded with but little terror amid the din and 
clash of the terrific, death-dealing missiles discharged from 
their artillery. 

This battery was located in the bight of a deep bend, the 
body of water being confined to a narrow channel, while the 
rapidity of the current was proportionately increased ; and to 
this list of well studied advantages, the fact that one among 
the first shots fired cut away the '* camrod " to the larboard 
engine, while another shot or shell disabled the " doctor 
engine," and some idea, though indefinite, may be formed of 
the danger of the position. The larboard wheel being stopped 
caused the boat to be forced by the remaining wheel in the 
direction of the battery, and this disadvantage was made still 
more alarming by the fact of the boat not having sufficient 
headway to render her obedient to the rudder. 

During this most desponding crisis the boat was almost 
stationary, and that, too, in the very mouth of the battery, 
and yet the engineers were braving every danger and striving 
with almost superhuman energy to effect temporary repairs, 
such as would enable them to work the engines, at least, until 
the supply of steam and water should be exhausted. They 
could not hope for anything beyond this, in consideration of 
the injury to the " doctor engine," by which the boilers are 
supplied. Their noble efforts were crowned with success, 
and many a drooping spirit leaped joyously with the first 
revolution of that engine. 

The boat had just escaped the range of the battery when 
the tin-clad gunboat Romeo, or No. 3, came to her assistance 
and while rounding in alongside to take her in tow shelled the 
woods most furiously to silence the sharpshooters stationed 
along the banks. 

The boat was under effective fire for over twenty minutes. 
Fifty or sixty artillery shots took effect in various portions of 
the boat; while the number of small shots is almost too numer- 



566 GOtfLD's HISTORY OF RH ER NAVIGATION. 

Oils to estimate. Many of the shots were evidently directed 
at the boilers, and some conception of the accuracy may be 
had when we state thirteen mules were killed immediately be- 
tween the boilers and the battery. 

Gen. McNeil having occasion to pass from the roof into and 
through the cabin expressed it that he seemingly picked his 
steps through a perfect " labyrinth of cannon balls." 

At the time of the attack, there were some five hundred 
persons on board, including passengers, about sixty of whom 
were women and children. Words cannot express the con- 
sternation of that half hour. History will fail to record, or 
canvas to portray, the horrors of such a scene. Men, women 
and children running to and fro wringing their hands in utter 
despair, or crouched behind some frail protection which fear 
and terror had magnified into fancied security. To intensify 
this scene of anguish, many passengers were hurrying about 
the cabin and although unhurt themselves were literally 
covered with blood received from the wounds of others near 
by them. 

After the gunboat had towed the Empress around the point 
which bhut out the locality of the battery from view, she 
landed her and here she remained until the necessary repairs 
could be completed. This required about eight hours, when 
the lights on board were all extinguished, and under convoy of 
the gunboat we proceeded up the river. 

After the trying ordeal was passed, and notes and incidents 
compared, we were enabled to bestow honor on whom honor 
was due. 

Among the bright stars in the galaxy, we beg to mention 
the following names: Brig.-Gen. McNeil, Military Director; 
Thos. Goslee and Enoch King, pilots; Hugh Davis, mate ; 
Geo. Bruce, Andrew Pendleton, Judd Weber and Wm. Ten- 
nant, engineers and assistants. 

The list of names of killed and wounded has doubtless, ere 
this, reached you by telegraph. 

When the attack was commenced Captain John Molloy was 
sitting on the bed in his room, in the forward part of the 
Texas. He immediately ran out the side door, and on the op- 
posite side from the battery. He took hold on a small iron hog- 
chain, by which he was endeavoring to swing himself out- 
board to speak to the pilots, and while in this position a solid 
shot passing through his room struck him, completely sever- 
ing his head from his body. 

Here let us pause while we pay a sad but fitting tribute to 
the memory of a departed friend — Captain John Molloy had 



CAPT. moixoy's antecedents. 567 

been for a series of years an active steamboatmau, hailing 
from this port — and in every position he was called to fill, he 
evinced a spirit of honor and integrity in the discharge of his 
duties, a pride in his profession, and a scrupulous regard for 
the interests of his employers, that endeared him to the hearts 
of all with whom he became associated. 

We know of no higher or more deserving encomium when we 
say : " To know him was to love him." Many a stout heart 
among that crew bowed in sorrow and affliction on learning 
•of the death of their commander. 

A true friend — an agreeable companion — a high-toned 
gentleman. Who will wonder that many a bitter tear, on that 
sad occasion, bedimmed the eye of those " unused to weep- 
ing?" " A. R. M." 

OBITUARY. 

Died, Wednesday, August 10th, on board steamer Empress, 
Captain John Molloy, in the 4 2d year of his age. 

The subject of the above notice was a citizen of this city, 
long and favorably known throughout the community at large, 
but more especially to the steamboat fraternity, of which he 
had been for many years an esteemed and revered member. 
His parents emigrating to St Louis while he was yet in his 
infancy, he may be said to have '* grown with the village," 
and being endowed by nature with these ennobling qualities of 
head and heart which ever attract the love and admiration of 
the circle, and unite, as with a silken bond, in friendship and 
sincerity, he had the gathering of long years to claim for his 
myriad of true friends and companions. 

At an early age he selected for future pursuit a mercantile 
calling, and with this view entered the well-known house of 
Sproule & Buchanan, wholesale grocers and commission mer- 
•chants. As evidence of worth he retained his position in this 
house for many years, and throughout all the varied changes 
to which the firm was subjected. About the year 1850 a river 
life claimed his attention, and we find him engaged a& second 
clerk of the steamer Amaranth, a regular St. Louis and New 
Orleans trader. He was attached to this boat for over two 
years. Subsequently he was clerk of the steamers Aleck Scott, 
Shenandoah and J. C. Swon. 

He was in command of the steamers Orleans and John 
Walsh, which latter boat he superintended during her building 
4it Cincinnati. He also commanded the steamers Illinois, 
Planet, Champion, Mollie Able and Empress. He was an ac- 
knowledged competent boatman and thorough business man, 



568 Gould's history of river navigation. 

affable in his deportment to all, genial in his manners and much 

given to social converse, a not uncommon sequence of river 

life. 

" For what'er our mood 
In sooth, we love not solitude." 

He was engaged with a friend in talk of home and the brighter 
scenes of early youth but a single moment before he was sum- 
moned and called away from " earthly scenes." 

He died as he had lived, with the words of duty upon his lips. 

A loved companion has passed away, and we would fain 
forget the scene or the occasion of his untimely death. Yet in 
after years, when the dread alarms of war are hushed and peace 
shall lend its cheerful influence to home and fireside, remem- 
brance will anon harrow up the retrospect and picture o'er 
again the brief but sad hour that doomed a noble life. 

" Count life by virtues — these will last 
When life's short race is o'er — 
And these, when earthly joys are past 
Shall cheer us on a brighter shore." 

Among other tragic events that occurred on transport boats 
was one on the steamer Von Phul, on a trip from New Or- 
leans to St. Louis in which Captain Gormon, her commander, 
and the bar-keeper were instantly killed from a battery located 
just above Bayou Sara on the opposite side of the river. 

A STORY of the WAR — HOW THE ALICE DEAN WAS DESTROYED 
DURING THE MORGAN RAID, FROM CINCINNATI ** COMMERCIAL 
GAZETTE ' ' CONFEDERATE GENERAL -IOHNSON's ACCOUNT RE- 
LATED TO MRS. CAPTAIN JAMES H. PEPPKR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 
AFTER. 

April 14, 1889. 
''Previous to and in the early days of the war, the Cincinnati 
and Memphis packet Alice Dean was one of the favorite and 
most palatial of river steamers. Her cabin was sumptuously 
furnished, and she was one of the fast clippers, plying between 
the Queen City and the now fast growing city on the Tennes- 
see bluffs. The Alice Dean was a favorite vessel for excur- 
sion parties from Cincinnati, and was commanded by Captain 
Jas. H. Pepper, a mariner of prepossessing appearance, a re- 
fined, well educated man, and whose urbane manners made 
him a general favorite with the traveling public. Captain 
Pepper has long since gone to that bourne from whence no- 
traveler returns, and the grand floating palace during the war 
was burned to the water's edge by the guerrilla, John Morgan^ 



A REMARKABLE REVELATION. 569 

near Brandenburg, while in the hospital service and en route 
from Memphis to Cincinnati. 

The boat was hailed into shore by a distress signal, and 
John Morgan when she landed came aboard and demanded 
that he and his troops be transported to the other side of the 
river. Unbeknown to Captain Pepper at the time, Morgan 
was being hotly pursued by Generals Buford and Shackleford, 
and on the way up the river his men became very boisterous 
and threatened to burn the boat. Captain Pepper went to Gen- 
eral Morgan, and, both being Masons, exacted a promise from 
Morgan that if the boat were landed and his men safely con- 
veyed to shore the Alice Dean should not be in the least mo- 
lested, and be permitted to continue on her trip toward 
Cincinnati. Hardly had the landing been made, however, 
before the boat was discovered on fire in several places, and 
soon burned to the water's edge." 

The widow of Captain Pepper has for several years past 
been conducting a hotel at Temple, Texas, and recently wrote 
to a friend in this city relating a strange coincidence. 

The lady says: " You will, no doubt, remember the capture 
and burning of the Alice Dean . There has several times come 
to our hous.e within the last three months a gentleman totally 
blind. His fine appearance and language excited one's atten- 
tion and sympathy, A few weeks ago he registered with us 
again, and came here to meet some New York capitalists, who 
are projecting a railroad in this section. The name of the 
gentleman is General Johnson. One evening he and the New 
York gentlemen were in the office, and the General was relat- 
ing some war reminiscences, when one of the party asked him 
if he had lost his sight during the war. He replied: ' Yes ; 
I was with General Morgan, an officer at the time he made his 
raid through Ohio. We reached Brandenburg, Kentucky, 
where I captured a small stern-wheel boat, and, seeing a large 
steamer approaching from down the river, ran out into the 
river with the stern-wheel boat and began giving signals of 
distress. The captain of the large boat slowed up and came 
alongside, and in a few moments my men, at an order from 
me, had boarded her. I compelled the captain to carry all of 
Morgan's troops to the Indiana shore, where we safely landed. 
General Morgan going ahead with his men and I remaining on 
board with a small force, and then, it occurring to me and 
fearing that the captain of the captured boat might go back to 
the Kentucky side and carry over after us General Buford and 
his command, / ordered my men to apply the torch, and 
burned her to the water's edge.' 



570 GOULU'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

"All of this I heard, and not being able to longer contain 
my feelings, interrupted their conversation by saying, ' Gen- 
eral Johnson, do you remember the name of the boat you 
burned? ' ' Yes,' he said, ' let me see. I can see her in my 
mind.' I was too impatient to let him think, but exclaimed, 
* Was it the Alice Dean ? ' « Yes, yes, that was her name, and 
she was commanded by Captain Pepper.' * Well, sir,' I said, 
' do you know that Captain Pepper was my husband, and it 
was his property you destroyed? ' ' Is it possible I am talk- 
ing in the presence of Mrs. Pepper? ' ' Yes, sir, you are." 

" There was a dead silence for a few moments, and then 1 
left the office. I learned afterward from one of the gentle- 
men that they had had a skirmish with General Shackleford 
and General Johnson had been shot through both eyes, and 
was nursed by a family near Newbery, Indiana, named Sims. 
I have so often had a curiosity to know why the Alice Dean 
was burned, as I have heard Captain Pepper say General 
Morgan assured him as a Mason that his property should not 
be destroyed. Was it not strange that after so many years — 
over a quarter of a century — away here in far Texas, making 
my own bread and in my own house, I should hear a man say 
he applied the torch to my husband's boat? " 

The name of the little stern-wheel boat referred to in the 
narrative was the John T. Macombs. 



RIVER REMINISCENCES. 

[Reported for the Enquirer from Memory by Captain A. H. Haudlan.] 

The following list of gunboats, rams and transports were at 
Shreveport, Red River, during the summer of 1863: Mary T, 
gunboat; Missouri, iron-clad, eleven guns; ram Webb, after 
New Orleans fell, came out of Red River, passing New Or- 
leans flying the Stars and Stripes, and when oppisite the point 
at Algiers pulled down the Stars and Stripes and displayed the 
Stars and Bars, and was fired at from a Union gunboat of 
Commodore Farragut's fleet, but she continued her course 
down the Mississippi fifty miles, where she met Commodore 
Farragut's flagship Hartford, when her crew ran her into the 
bank and deserted her after damaging her so that she sank. 
Above Shreveport: T. W. Roberts ;"the General Quitman 
came out with a cargo of cotton belonging to Captain John 
Cannon and went to St. Louis; Nina Sims, Anna Perrot ; the 
Falls City was scuttled and sank crosswise in the river to pre- 
vent steamers from passing ; the Twilight, Homer, Indian No. 



MEM. OF STR. JOHN WALSH, SUPPOSED TO BE IN 1860. 571 

2, Vigo, Trenton, ram and gunboat General Beauregard, after- 
ward captured and sunk in the fight at Memphis : Charm, Andy 
Fulton, Eries Nos. 4, 6, 7, Doubloon, Countess, J. M. Ralph, 
Music, Lafourch, T. D. Hine, Cleon, Colona, Planter No. 2, 
Frolic, Morgan, Nelson, Dr. Beaty and others. None of the 
above were destroyed by the Union forces. But they blew 
up the gunboat Eastport to prevent her from being captured, 
beside losing some trnsports in that hornet's nest. 

Memoranda. — Steamer John Walsh left New Orleans 
Monday, August 6th, at 5 o'clock, p. m. 

We left in port for St. Louis, steamers Wm. M. Morrison, 
Imperial, New Uncle Sam, Jno. J. Roe and Hiawatha. 7th — 
Met T. L. McGill at Natchez. 8th — Met Edward Walsh at 
Vicksburg; City of Memphis just above; John Warner at 
Island 93. 9th — Met Gladiator at Greenville, and Skylark 
aground at same place. 10th — Met A. McDowell aground at 
Helena. They had succeeded in sparring her straight with the 
current, and unless something should give way she would soon 
be afloat. 11th — Met Champion above Memphis ; Choctaw 
still hard aground at Ishmd 25; with Great Western alongside 
taking freight ; L. M. Kennettjust starting over the bar at the 
same place. 12th — Met Hannibal at No. 8 ; Arago at Cairo, 
loading for New Orleans and would leave same day; B. J. 
Adams, fromLouisville,also loading to return from Cairo. She 
was about ready and only awaited the arrival of the Tempest 
with a lot of mules. 13th — Met Alonzo Child at Wittenburg. 

When we passed Napoleon the wharf -boats were tilled to 
their utmost capacity, and flat-boats were called into requisi- 
tion for the storage of wet barrels and other descriptions of 
freight not liable to damage by exposure. To Little Rock 
there was a channel depth of only twenty inches, while above 
that point they report twenty-seven inches. 

The Mississippi above Vicksburg is fast assuming what 
might be termed a very " ragged exterior." The water on the 
principal bars may be set down as follows : Greenville, 1\ feet ; 
Bulletin, 8^ feet ; Island 34, 8 feet ; above Cairo, 7 feet. 

Yours truly, E. T. C. 



572 Gould's history of river navigation. 



CHAPTEK LXXVI. 



T 



STEAMBOAT vs. RAILROAD. 

HE following paragraph is copied because it claims to be 
indorsed by a newspaper generally practical in all its 
suggestions — not because this writer indorses it for a mo- 
ment. 

True, the author of the paragraph, " R. F.," supposes a 
differently constructed wheel, and in fact what he terms 
•' new methods" are to be applied. What they are or what 
may be the result of such " new methods," of course, no one 
can predict without knowing something of them. 

But he claims that " methods now known " will insure much 
greater returns than have yet been obtained. 

Without speculating upon the results of the new methods,, 
his claims of what can be secured by those already known, are 
so impracticable, on the Mississippi River at least, that it is 
hardly worth while to discuss them. It is now more than 
seventy-five years since the best skill and mechanical ingenu- 
ity that this country and Europe have produced has been de- 
voted to the study of the best methods in the application of 
steam to navigation. The last twenty-five years have certainly 
shown no improved methods, or if improved, no 7iew methods. 
So far as the Mississippi River is concerned, there is no evi- 
dence to prove that there has been any improvement in the 
speed of steamboats va forty-jive years. 

When the circumstances are fairly considered, the time of 
the first J. M. White, in 1844, has never been equaled, and 
probably never will be, over the same course. 

The proposition that passenger boats can and ought to be 
built to make the trip from New Orleans to St. Louis in sev- 
enty-two hours and back in forty-eight hours is too chimerical 
to talk of in the present condition of navigation, or in any 
other condition that is probable to exist. 

No route, no circumstances in America, if in any other 
country, have as yet made it possible for a steamboat to com- 
pete with a railroad except in towing cheap freight, especially 
on such streams as those in the Mississippi Valley. 

The route between Louisville and Cincinnati is a fair illus- 
tration. There was a wealthy corporation, well and exten- 
sively known for the excellence of their boats, almost entirely 
exempt from accidents, on a route free from snags, wrecks or 



A POLICY CONSIDERED. 573 

other unknown obstructions, with a stage of water often ex- 
tending through six or eight month.s, without interruption, 
and with a class of boats combining all known facilities for 
speed and comfort, with arrangements with all connecting 
lines of railroads — making sure connections at each end of 
the route — furnishing a good supper and a comfortable 
night's lodging at less than railroad cost. The result is known 
to everybody — that ten passengers go by rail where one 
travels by this fine line of boats. 

The same may be said of the travel on the Hudson River, 
and a large part of the year even on Long Island Sound, and 
every other route where this competition exists. 

Produce the new methods and if practicable there is plenty 
of capital to avail itself of the advantages developed. But it 
is idle to flatter ourselves with methods or expectations long 
since exploded. 

^^ Editor of the Times: I am glad to see that a suggestion of 
the Times to place exclusive passenger boats on the Mississippi 
from St. Louis to New Orleans is meeting with favor, because 
there is no doubt this is what is required to initiate a move- 
ment to recover steamboat interests from the depression caused 
by railroad competition. 

Boats can be made to run quite as fast as average railroad 
trains, and if made and run over such a route within anytime 
approaching railroad speed, would certainly be preferred. Let 
the fast passenger boats be built, and the fast freight will soon 
follow. 

On the time question, however, you do not aim as high as 
is within the reach of methods now known. Two days for the 
down trip, and three up, is what should be aimed for. And 
it is to be hoped that if there are any wide-awake men willing 
to go into such an enterprise, that they will be such as are 
also capable of entertaining some new ideas on the subject of 
marine propulsion ; and who will before embarking examine 
into the merits of what may be shown and suggested to them. 

That they will see that a few thousand dollars' expenditure 
in preliminary experiment would be a wiser measure than to 
risk all in old plans that have heretofore invariably failed to 
reach the results attempted. It is also to be hoped that they 
will know enough never to expect any screw propeller is going 
to drive a large vessel against the current of the Mississippi 
River at the speed required ; and that no paddle-wheel of the 
old pattern can yield a sufficient thrusting force. 

Let them put no confidence in any engineer, w^ho believes 
that a paddle-wheel properly constructed can have too broad 



574 gould'.^ history of kivek navigation. 

or wide a surface of paddle, and consequently too great resist- 
ance to its movement in the water. This is the power that 
moves the boat, and when it moves the wheel turns and will 
revolve as fast as the boat moves, and the boat moves just in 
proportion to the amount of resistance the paddle encounters. 
Tf it is more than the engine can overcome, it will move the 
boat instead first, and the wheel will as surely keep up as the 
wheeN of a wagon keep pace with the motion of the load upon 
them." R. F. 

From a recent letter over the signature of *' A Clerk," pub- 
lished in the Times-Democrat of New Orleans, the subject is 
considered from another standpoint : 

Neav Orleans, Jan. 13, 1889. 
" To the editor of the Times-Democrat : 

" When the Ed. Richardson was sold to be wrecked we read 
that she was the last but one of the river palaces which had 
given so much fame to the Mississippi steamboat. Since the 
sinking of the Natchez it is told that her loss is that also of the 
last of the river palaces; that never again will we have such 
tieet and elegant steamers as the Lee, White or Natchez ; that 
so largely has the traffic and travel by river fallen off there is 
no longer need or profit for such boats, and that if the steam 
boatmen are wise they will build in their places freight carriers 
alone, and of the most economical kind. Now it has become 
so common to speak thus of steamboats, to belittle their value,^ 
to make it appear that they no longer serve a grand and useful 
purpose, to so great an extent have they been supplanted, and so 
uncommon is it for one to say a word in their praise or defense, 
that I beg a hearing in behalf of the much maligned and misunder- 
stood steamboat. In the first place it is not the Lee, White, or 
Natchez that made the Mississippi steamboat famous, for there 
were boats lief ore their day just as famous and widely known. 
The Tecumseh was one, a boat which in 1828 went to Louis- 
ville from this city in 8 days and 4 hours, then considered a 
marvelously fast run ; the J. M. White of 1844 was another, 
and whose time to St. Louis has been beaten but once since. 
There was also the Hard Times, which boat in 1847 made 
three trips in a month betAveen this city and St. Louis. There 
was also the Duke of Orleans, whose time from here to Cin- 
cinnati in 1843 has not since been beaten. Also the A. L. Shot- 
well and Eclipse, with the fastest of all records to Louis- 
ville, and the Princess and Natchez and other flyers of ante- 
bellum days. It was feats and boats like these, and not the 



PROBABILITIES OF THE FUTURE. 575 

record of any one or of three boats, that made the steamboat 
of the Mississippi famous, and tlie glory of which will be but 
added to in the future, as surely as time comes and goes. Nor 
are all the " tloating palaces" gone forever. Some yet re- 
main, and the Oliver Beirne is one of them. The Beirne, so 
far as *• ginger-bread work " goes, is as elaborately finished 
outside as was the Lee or White, and her cabin inside is 
claimed by some to be more beautiful than was the White's, 
and as to speed neither of the three great boats would have 
had time to waste in keeping ahead of the Beirne. 

There is also the Jesse K. Bell, though not so great in 
size. Who can gainsay her beauty outside, or elegance 
within? Both of these boats, beloncrinof to the Planters and 
Merchant's Packet Line, and running to Bayou Sara, have 
done as much business this season as was done by any other 
boat in the same time. There is also the St. Louis and New 
Orleans Anchor line. When did the trade between this city 
and St. Louis have the equal or superior of its boats, and if 
such boats as the City of St. Louis, City of New Orleans, City 
of Baton Rouge and others of the line are not floating palaces, 
in size, finish, speed of elegance in cabin appointments, what 
are they? Take the stern-wheel steamboats also. AVhen was 
there the superior of such boats as the Golden Rule, the 
Pargoud and T. P. Leathers, the Warren, Teche, the 
Lafourche, Whisper or the Paul Tulane of to-day ! No, Mr. 
Editor, the day of the fast and fine steamboat on the Missis- 
sippi river is not yet gone. Some remain to attract, others 
will come, and all that is said or published to the contrary is 
a wrong, in statement and effect. 

It is true that we may never again see 2u facsimile of the 
Lee, White or Natchez, but, though they were paying invest- 
ments, there are those who believed that the building of such 
large, heavy, costly and expensive boats was more in the 
nature of pride and of ambition than necessity. They be- 
lieved then, and do now, that he who had a boat that could be 
run without loss eight months of the twelve was more to be 
envied than him who had a boat that could be run but four 
months. As a matter of course the railroads have diverted 
business from the river, but the success of the railroads in 
giving the same rapid transit for freight as in travel has done 
greater harm than all. With the railroad results are more to 
be considered than the means, and when their ways are more 
nearly imitated ; when steamboatmen realize, as they soon 
must, that time is everything, even of greater importance than 
the burning of a little more fuel ; when instead of taxing his 



576 Gould's history of river navigation. 

and the ingenuity of others in planning the greatest carrying 
for the smallest amount of power, he builds and runs to attract 
and retain the custom he would have, then, and not before, 
will he become a competitor against whom none may prevail." 

Respectfully, 

A Clerk," 

If the following article from the Railway Register proves 
anything, it seems difficult to tell what it is. But as it has 
been furnished by a friend to river transportation as an argu- 
ment in its favor, it ought not to be lost si^ht of: — 

THE RIVER BUSINESS. 

"Undoubtedly the first glory of the great rivers has departed. 
Time was when they monopolized the traffic of the country 
from the days when the pioneer explorers of the new world 
paddled their canoes down the Ohio to the comparatively 
modern period when the only conveyance in the vast region 
between the Rockies and the AUeghanies was the steamboat, 
for the stage-coach then had but few traveled routes. 

Of the important work done by the lake and river boats 
historians, poets and novelists have spoken in a literature that 
is world renowned. After the civil war river transportation 
began to wane, for the railways were so much more conven- 
ient and speedy. 

The great lakes have not lost the commerce they posessed 
of old, but it has really increased right along as the traffic of 
the Western States and the Northwestern regions grew into 
such tremendous size. All of the trunk lines and many of 
the small railways have huge steamers which ply in close 
alliance with them, to say nothing of the numberless small 
and sailing crafts which crowd the ports all along the shores. 

Water routes in the North and on the Atlantic coast are tak- 
ing a more important part in the business of the country than 
ever. Before the railways came they possessed the entire 
coast and much of the interior trade, but all of it was not a 
tithe of what it is now. 

The popular idea is that the steamboat trade on the interior 
rivers has been on the wane until it is now comparatively un- 
important. This impression is far from correct. In the 
years, not so long ago, when the cotton of the South, and the 
grain and other produce of the Mississippi Valley, as well as 
the fur and other trade of the Upper Missouri, all was handled 
by steamboats there was a greater show made, because most 
of the passenger business went by river and light craft plied 



FACTS VS. ASSUMPTIONS. 577 

Oil all of the smaller river.s. Unquestionably the railways 
have so successfully competed for the trade that the business 
of the boats seems unimportant to those who have not meas- 
ured it or estimated it. 

The proposed construction of new bridges across the Ohio 
has called forth earnest protests from the river interests, and 
some figures have been presented which are new and surpris- 
ing. The rivers have always been the losers before the pub- 
lic on account of the lack of the full statistics which the rail- 
way companies furnish. The steamboat companies published 
no annual reports, stating the number of passengers and tons 
of freight carried, nor is their work constantly before the 
people like that of the railways. 

But if the river trade could be calculated and measured its 
volume would surprise even those who are best acquainted 
with it. It is, of course, true that the multiplication of new 
railways has drawn away much of the custom of the steam- 
boats and is constantly diverting more of certain portions of 
it. These new railways furnish facilities to towns which they 
did not enjoy before, and being speedier take away business 
from the boats. 

But after all, a little reflection will show that in some depart- 
ments the boats are actually gaining. One big steamboat will 
carry a trainload of freight, and so, though there are not many 
lines or boats, the aggregate of freight carried is immense. 
Then the system of barges towed by a steamer is gaining in 
favor. The bulk of the barge business consists of coal and 
grain. 

One steamboat recently took out of Louisville a tow of 
28,500 tons of coal, or enough to load a train of cars fourteen 
miles long. Pittsburgh alone sends out annually on the Ohio 
River 4,000,000 tons of coal, equal to400,000 carloads of ten 
tons each. One statistician estimates that a double-tracked 
railway on each side of the Ohio River could not accommo- 
date the traffic of the boats now plying on it. 

The Mississippi barge line in 1884 made seventy-four round 
trips on the river, and carried 453,939 tons of freight. The 
Illinois Central, on its 2,000 miles of road, in 1885 carried 
3,587,270 tons of freight, so the barge line business was 
nearly one-seventh as large as that of this great railway. 

The demand of the times is for cheap transportation, and it 
stands to reason that boats plying on the river, without any 
expense for maintenance of way or stations, can handle freight 
cheaper than the railways. The rate of freight on the Missis- 
sippi barge line between St. Louis and New Orleans in 1883 

37 



578 Gould's history of river navigation. 

was $2.37 per ton, and by rail it was $4.40. No doubt in 
certain territory the difference is greater. Take the boats, 
which run between St. Louis or Cincinnati and the interior 
points on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, and they 
enable the merchants of the two cities to control a trade they 
could not otherwise handle. 

Freight by rail is being carried for a smaller rate than was 
a few years ago believed possible, and on many roads it is 
hard to see how many further reductions can be made without 
cutting under the actual cost to the carriers of the transpor- 
tation. As the competition between trade centers become 
more intense it is probable that the rivers will be more than 
ever relied on to help the merchants out. Expensive goods 
may still go by rail, but all kinds of coarse freight will 

choose the boats. 

»** * * * *** 

Whatever increases commerce is for the benefit of the rail- 
ways, and so those interested in these carriers need not feel 
concerned over the larger business of the river." 

Neither of the three foregoing extracts are based upon facts, 
or upon the result of the experience of every one for the last 
20 years so far as the waters of the Mississippi Vallej' are con- 
cerned. Of what value are arguments based upon sophistry ? 
Why consult our wishes and take counsel from our hopes, 
Avhen we have facts patent to every one from which to draw 
our conclusions? Of what value is an opinion advanced in di- 
rect opposition to what is known to be true ? It is like the 
story of the "little boy who continued whistling while going 
through the graveyard, to keep up his courage." Reference 
is often made to the towboat J. B. Williams taking from 
Louisville to New Orleans one tow of coal, amounting to 22,- 
000 tons, enough to load a train of cars fourteen miles long, 
as an evidence that railroads cannot compete with water trans- 
portation. In the article of coal and some other cheap and 
bulky articles, no argument is necessary to prove that fact, 
in a high stage of water, and over long distances. 

But how many months in the year is there water enough 
above Cairo for the Williams or any other boat to tow half 
that amount ? 

That boat went through safely. But how often is it that 
more or less of the boats in the tow are lost ? How long would 
any portion of that 22,000 tons of coal have lasted, in a storm 
like that near New Orleans in 1888. 

The experience of those engaged in the business may be of 



IS THE DAY OF FAST AND FINE BOATS GONE? 579 

value in estimating the ability of water transportation vs. 
Railroad. Especially after there shall have been built an- 
other score of railroad bridges across the streams. 

The correspondent in the "Times Democrat," over the sig- 
nature of "A Clerk" insists that "the day of fast and fine 
steamboats on the Mississippi River is not yet gone." "And 
all that is said or published to the contrary is wrong in state- 
ment and effect." After referring to the Oliver Bevine, and 
the Jessie K. Bell, as an evidence of his sagacity, he points to 
the St. Louis Anchor Line, and says: "AVhen did the trade 
between this city and St. Louis have the equal or the superior 
of its boats?" etc., etc. 

This "Clerk" is probably from the interior, and not familiar 
with the history of steamboats or of their number, and business 
they once did. He has forgotten if ever he knew the time 
when there was employed "between this city and St. Louis" 
twenty to thirty regular boats, and some as fine and as fast as 
the Anchor Line. He fails to state the melancholy and 
damaging fact, that at the present time, 1889, that only three 
boats, and those comparatively small ones, are now required 
to do the business that formerly took twenty larger ones to 
do. Why attempt to deceive ourselves and the public by a 
fallacy patent to all? 

In other chapters of this work this subject has been so 
often referred to and the only possible means by which river 
navigation can be partially restored has been so often discussed, 
that further consideration of it at this time and place is. 
unnecessary. 



580 Gould's history of river navigation. 



CHAPTER LXXYII. 

STEAMBOATING ON WESTERN WATERS — CAUSES OF FAILURE TO 
BECOME PROFITABLE. 

IT seems a phenomenal fatality that has followed this great 
and legitimate industry from its introduction on to these 
waters to the present time. 

There are many causes that have contributed to the general 
result. Perhaps none more prominent than the fascination 
the business has presented to the mind of young men, espe- 
cially such as have not had the advantages of an education, and 
even to those, the free rollicking life of a boatman has often 
proven irresistible and disastrous in the end. 

The fascination that enabled the early voyagers to meet 
and endure the dangers, the hardships and the privations of 
pirogue and tlat-boat life, has never lost its attraction to the 
employes of steamboats to the present day. And yet none 
of them with the rarest exception, have ever laid up their earn- 
ings, and, as a rule, the higher their wages the less they save 
and the soooner their career terminates. 

The oflScers of steamboats in later years have differed very 
materially from those that were the immediate successors of 
the old barge and keel-boatmen, many of which were trans- 
ferred directly from those pioneer craft to the earlier steam- 
boats. In fact it was from that class that all were obliged to 
look for their crews. And for several years, it was from them 
that the masters, the mates and the pilots were generally se- 
lected, and for many years their successors, as a rule, were not 
morally far in advance of them. 

Another cause that has contributed largely to the want of 
success in this business is that of the facility with which boats 
could be built. At an earlier day they cost much less than at 
present, and a company, or even an individual, who repre- 
sented any unencumbered real estate could easily secure 
sufficient credit to build a steamboat without any money. 
Thousands of men in the Mississippi Valle}^ have lost their 
homes, their farms, and their all, by pledging them to pay for 
building a steamboat they had no use for. The result of 
course was to increase competition, and ruin those who were 
engaged in a legitimate business, although perhaps only mak- 
ing a fair living, and what was still more demoralizing, this 
was often done by men who had no knowledge of the busi- 
ness, nor in fact of anv business. 



THE GREAT RISKS IN THE BUSINESS. 581 

From this custom, too, many, very many builders were 
broken up. 

Anotiier cause for the disastrous result to this great and 
important factor in the settlement of the valley was the danger- 
ous character of the navigation. 

It was not until about 1869 that the government could be 
induced to make the necessary appropriations to do anything 
towards improving navigation in a general way. Conse- 
quently the rate of insurance was so high that no price could 
be charged sufficient to pay the carrier a profit after paying 
his insurance and other legitimate expenses. And even then, 
very few underwriters made any money on hull insurance, 
and many of them were broken up that attempted it. And 
the rate was so high many steamboat owners declined to in- 
sure, and consequently many boats were lost with little or no 
insurance, which added to the general result. 

The usual rate on hulls on the Ohio and tributaries, and the 
Mississippi and tributaries, except the Missouri, Arkansas and 
Red River, was from 10 to 12 per cent, per annum. On the 
excef)ted rivers, from 15 to 20 per cent. 

A great amount of litigation arose in the settlement of 
losses, and in the earlier history of steam navigation 
the courts were often appealed to to adjust the differ- 
ences. As the laws were not so well defined, and differently 
interpreted in different courts and different states, this 
was always expensive, and often produced crimination 
and recrimination between the owners and underwriters, each 
charging the other with attempt to defraud, etc., so that 
many owners declined to insure their boats on that account 
when they felt at all able to take the risk themselves. But 
the liability to loss was so great, but few were willing or able 
to take greater risks than the uninsurable ones. 

The risk from bursting of boilers, breaking machinery or 
the escaping of steam were considered uninsurable accidents, 
and were generally excepted from policies of insurance, al- 
though a few companies issued a policy covering those risks. 
But in later years, since the inspection laws have been more 
rigidly enforced, and manufacturers of boiler iron and steel 
have found itnecessary to pay more attention to the quality of 
that product, far less accidents have occurred from those causes. 
Much maybe attributed, too, to the character and ability 
of engineers. Some of the most terrific casualties that have 
ever occurred on Western waters are undoubtedly attributable 
to too much whisky instead of too much steam. 

Referring to losses of life and of steamboats, no period dur- 



582 Gould's history of river navigation. 

ing the history of steam navigation has compared with that 
immediately following the late war. This undoubtedly should 
be attributed to the poor quality of boiler iron. 

The demand for boiler iron, to use in the construction of 
gunboats, was so great the demand could not be filled as fast as 
wanted. The result was a large quantity of bad iron was 
thrown upon the market and used indiscriminatel3^ 

The war having created an active demand for river trans- 
portation a demand for new boats in 1863, 1864, and 1865 was 
so great it was impossible to procure boilers enough made 
from suitable iron or steel. The consequence was many poor, 
unsafe boilers were put into steamboats, as " everything 
went" at that time, and very soon after many of the boats 
went, and as human life was considered cheap then, many 
were sacrificed on the altar of avarice. 

Another prominent cause that has largely contributed in 
hastening the final result, and with drawing capital from tliis 
interest, is the lack of confidence those engagred in it extend 
towards their compeers. And this is incidental to the loose, 
unsystematic manner of doing business. The few well known 
good business men that have engaged in river transportation 
from time to time, have been unable to exercise sufficient in- 
fluence over the great majority to introduce and maintain such 
systems and principles of business as will alone insure success 
in any business. 

BENEFIT OF JOINT STOCK COMPANIES. 

The persistent opposition against organized joint stock com- 
panies by many of those engaged in stearaboating, tended to 
keep up an insane competition which not only destroyed profits, 
but confidence. And not until it was too late to secure the 
great benefits resulting from such organizations was it possible 
in many cases to induce their formation. 

The opposition generally arose among the smaller stock- 
holders in individual boats, and who were employed on those 
boats, fearing, very naturally, they might lose their posi- 
tion and their influence, but forgetting the necessity of more 
economy and less competition, which did result to all well con- 
structed companies. But which finally were in many cases 
obliged to succumb to the overpowering element of railroad 
competition. 

The following suggestive remarks are clipped from a St. 
Louis paper published in i\\& fifties, by its correspondent, who 
evidently was engaged in the business, as he speaks feelingly 
and knowingly upon the subject. 

"Never, until the present loose and unguarded system of 



$950,000 INVESTED IN STEAMBOATS IN N. O. TRADE. 583 

prosecuting the calling shall have been dissected, and each 
fractional part reached through some remediable agent, will it 
deserve to rank or lie classed upon an equal footing with other 
business pursuits, but continue, as it is, a game of chance — a 
speculation — its successful issue dependent not upon the deal 
but upon the *'turn up;" or you may confine it, if you will, 
to the juvenile pastime of "hide and seek," wherein one 
party, under the garb of friendly feeling, keeps secret his real 
intentions, until opportunity offers, aided by deception, to 
reach the goal in advance of other contestants. 

The great importance attached, and, as well, the risk and 
capital involved, are wholly.lost sight'of in the transaction of a 
business of such vast extent, while the weight of responsi- 
bility consequent upon the duties of a carrier, are treated 
lightly or oftentimes disregarded altogether ; the result of 
either misconception, or an unwarrantable disinterestedness. 

Some few facts, complied from a careful computation of 
the figures in our possession, and bearing directly upon the 
subject matter under consideration, may not prove inappro- 
priate in the above connection; and, as the evil to be over- 
come is by far more apparent in the St. Louis and New Or- 
leans trade, we have included only the boats engaged therein. 

The number of boats belonging exclusively to the trade, we 
find to be 2f), with the capacity for over 29,000 tons. The 
total valuation at the present day, regardless of original cost, 
may be safely estimated at $985,000. The calculation of 10 
per cent, interest gives us $98,500. The insurance of two- 
thirds the valuation amounts to over seventy-eight thousand 
dollars. The yearly depreciation, allotting five years as an 
average lifetime of a boat, in this particular trade, and receiv- 
ing the remains, after the term of service, as a compensation 
for the necessary outlay to keep up ordinary running repairs, 
is found to be 20 per cent, of the whole, and amounts in the 
aggregate to $197,000. Thus we have an annual expenditure, 
in liquidation alone of interest, insurance and depreciation of 
stock, of $374,000, or nearly 40 percent, on the total amount 
of capital invested, and which amount varies little, if any, be- 
tween running or remaining idle. These boats furnish em- 
ployment for about 1600 men, at a monthly salary of $80,000. 

Now, regard this matter in the light of a "joint stock," 
and what a magnified form would it assume. Yet should the 
fact of its distribution, in point of ownership, detract from 
its important mission, or render the common interest so rife 
with conflict ! 

In our honest conviction, the business referred to is upon 
the era of a most disastrous crisis, and one w'hich no one in- 



584 Gould's history of river navigation. 

dividually can avert, however cautious or prudent ; but, on the 
contrary, a united effort on the part of the many interests 
must alone be looked for to arrest the impeudino^ danger. 

The question very naturally arises, will they profit by their 
repeated failures heretofore, to establish some system consis- 
tent in its nature, and tending to the promotion of a combined 
interest, and institute some fully competent organization, one 
in no wise based upon either the "imaginary or hypothetical." 

The dependence hitherto predicted upon the business be- 
tween ports, and commonly termed " picking," was generally 
conceded remunerative, and continued to be so maintained, 
from the fact that it could not well be influenced by such di- 
rect competition as we find to be the invariable result of the 
presence of two or more boats at the same point. Now, that 
a want of confidence between leading parties is the chief 
cause of all the trouble, cannot be denied ; and thej'' ask, 
what course can we pursue to check the wanton spirit of 
rivalry discernable in the transaction of the river business ? 
We would answer this universal query by saying, if they will 
pardon the presumption, that they must adopt some policy to 
do away with the necessity for such a course." 

In looking for the causes that have contributed to the fail- 
ure of this great industry to be renumerative, we must not 
forget the vast amount that has been extorted from steam- 
boats by individuals and by incorporations for the privilege of 
receiving and discharging freight and passengers, or in other 
words, wharfage and even where no freight or passengers have 
been received or discharged a tax has often been imposed for 
the privilege of landing to buy fuel or stoves. 

The following, written several years ago on this subject, is 
yet in point, although there have been some modifications in 
those charges in late years. 

THE WHARFAGE EXTORTION. 

[To the Editor of the Courier- Journal.'] 

Steamer Wm. P. Halliday, April 24, 1883. — I see that you 
are still warring against the unreasonable and inconsistent tax of 
your city government in their persistent determination to col- 
lect an exorbitant wharfage tax from steamboats. A small 
tax sufficient to keep the wharf in repair is recognized by all 
the courts where the issue has been made. I believe more 
than that is unjust and exorbitant, and ought to be resisted. 
Every one familiar with river navigation knows too well that 
every public landing in the valley of the Mississippi has been 



THE INJUSTICE OF THE CHARGE AT CAIRO 585 

paid for many times over by the wharfage tax assessed against 
steamboats. And but comparatively few corporat'ons have 
still the assurance of collecting so unjust a tax, simply because 
those most interested do not unite in resisting. They may 
with the same consistency be taxed for opening and repairing 
streets for the accommodation of citizens as wharves, which 
are as free to every one as are the streets. No one can con- 
sistently claim that they ought not to be allowed to use a 
public landing they have paid for building, if they keep the 
same in repair. But my object is not to complain of your 
city government. They have been very generous and accom- 
modatins: to me — not havi'io; charijed me wharfage at all for 
many new boats I have finished at their wharf. What I do 
want is to secure your efforts and influence, as well as that of 
every other public journal and individual interested in the 
marine commerce of this great valley, against the principle 
of this tax generally, and especially as indulged in at some 
points. For instance, at Cairo. Probably there is no other 
point in the Mississippi Valley where so many boats and barges 
land as at Cairo ; nor where so large an amount of money is 
collected for wharfage. Why this soulless corporation has 
been countenanced so lono; in collectino- an exorbitant tax 
from steamboats, which are so little benefited from the use of 
the wharf seems passing strange. The wharf at this point was 
built expressly to protect the town site, and to form a road- 
bed for the Illinois Central railroad and other individual pur- 
poses. Ninety-hundredths of all the business that is done 
there by boats is done on wharf boats, and never touches the 
improved wharf, and would be just as well accommodated if 
it was not there. And even if it was not necessary to ac- 
commodate the river commerce, one per cent, of the money 
collected would be more than enough to keep it in repair. It 
is an outrage that no class of men except steamboat owners 
would submit to. Memphis and Vicksburg may be referred 
to as further illustration of the same abuse, although not so 
entirely unwarranted as at Cairo. Still the amount charged is 
exorbitant and unjust. At Vicksburg no wharfage is charged 
unless a boat discharges or receives some cargo. A boat the 
size and tonnage of the Halliday is charged $12, if they are so 
unfortunate as to have $1 worth of freight to discharge or re- 
ceive. To be sure boats are not obliged to land there. But 
it not unfrequently happens that a shipper has freight for 
many different landings and among them a little lot for Vicks- 
burg. Of course, he wants to ship all or none, and boats are 
thus obliged to land there or abandon the business. If the 



586 Gould's history of eiver navigation. 

money that is collected for wharfage was even expended on 
their wharf, there would be more justification. But judging 
from appearances there is more money collected for wharfage 
every year than has been spent on the wharf proper in ten 
years. Of New Orleans I need not speak. Everybody famil- 
iar with our river commerce knows full well of the extortion 
and robbery that have been practiced on water craft there for 
many years. But I am glad to notice signs of reform when 
the present lease of the wharf expires. The idea of leasing 
out a public wharf to individual speculators, with the privilege 
of fleecing the tonnage from which the city derives its princi- 
pal existence, is, to say the least, suggestive. Please extend 
your field of observation and give us a boom from the Courier- 
Journal. E. AV. Gould. 

LETTERS to THE NAUTICAL GAZETTE. ' 

In 1875 this writer prepared for a New York paper, devoted 
to marine interests (the Nautical Gazette), a series of letters 
on the "early history of steam navigation on Western 
waters," in which the subject of the causes of the decline of 
water transportation were discusssd. 

Tn a letter published in that paper January 12th, 187.5, the 
following passage occurs. 

As it fairly illustrates the situation even at this late date, 
it may not be uninteresting to quote it at some length : — 

"The direct and immediate cause for the great decline in 
this important branch of commerce is, of course, the construc- 
tion of so large a number of railroads. 

It is not necessary for me,, in this connection, to enter into 
the causes that have given rise to this railroad mania that has 
permeated every section of the country for the last twenty-five 
years. That it was unwarranted and visionary, the present 
embarrassed condition of more than half the roads in the 
country abundantly testify. 

Such was the anxiety in every portion of the country for 
railroads, that Congress, states, counties, cities, towns and in- 
dividuals were besieged for subsidies and subscriptions to build 
them. 

The large profits and subsidies secured by the projectors 
and builders were sufficient to induce all kinds of rings and 
credit mobiliers to be organized, to fleece the country at large, 
and especially the unsuspecting community through whose 
section of country the proposed road was to run. 

After exhausting all the arguments possible to be brought 
forward to induce subscriptions, bonds were issued and forced 



BUT ONE BUILT IN 1824. 587 

upon the market, through such agencies as Jay Cooke & Co., 
at any price. Hence the roads have cost double, and, in 
many instances, more than double what they ought to have 
cost. The result was what might have been expected. Some 
one punciw'ed Jay Cooke & Co., and the bubble burst, and the 
whole country was thrown into consternation. Every one 
was inquiring of his neighbor " What was the matter? What 
was the cause of the panic? " And a good many people have 
not found out yet that the country has expended more for 
railroads in the last twenty years than will ever be made out 
of them, and the payment of the interest alone that is paid to 
European capitalists will keep the country poor for years to 
come, saying nothing about the National debt. 

Very naturally, every community, every interest is looking 
for a remedy for the /lard times. The agricultural com- 
munity is looking to the Grangers to save them, and the 
Grangers to the railroads for cheaper freights, while they 
have already bankrupted their own stockholders by the ruin- 
ous competition and low freights. The manufacturer is look- 
ing to an increased tariff to save him, while the merchant seeks, 
in a reduction of the tariff, his salvation. 

In the absence of surplus earnings to pay dividends, rail- 
road managers call a convention of connecting roads to tind a 
remedy, and if there is no competing wat^r route to make war 
upon, arrange a tariff of prices satisfactory to themselves, ad- 
journ to meet again, as soon as a " cut " is discovered, which 
generally occurs within twenty-four hours. 

Various remedies and devices have been discussed and re- 
sorted to by those engaged in water transportation, but still 
the interest languishes, and steamboat building has almost 
ceased. 

A few years since, an average of one hundred new steam- 
boats^ per annum was a low estimate for all points on our 
rivers. In 1874 there was but a single boat built of any con- 
siderable capacity, of the usual kind, for freight and passen- 
gers, and but very few tow-boats, or any other character of 
boat. 

The millions of money annually paid out for the encourage- 
ment of this great industry, in former years, has now been 
directed into other channels, and I leave it for members of 
Congress and political economists to determine whether the 
ends have justified the means. 

The popular sentiment of the day is cheap transportation, 
and upon this pretense, one-half the railroads in the country 
have been built. Of what, advantage to the people is cheap 



588 Gould's histoky of river navigation. 

transportation, if they are taxed so heavily to procure that 
transportation, that they have nothiiiii; loft to pay for the arti- 
cle transported? But you will say 1 am rather discussing re- 
sults than causes. The two are so intimately connected, it is 
ditficult to consider the one without the other. 

Another important reason may be mentioned for the great 
falling off in water transportation — that of the great cost of 
navigating boats. Not that it is more so than formerly, but it 
has not been reduced in proportion to the reduction of prices 
of transportation, induced by the insane competition of rail- 
roads, nor can it be with the present cost of labor and sup- 
plies. While building is comparatively cheap, the cost of 
many articles of outfit are high. The numerous Government 
requirements, many of which are worse than useless, is a 
heavy tax, and ought to be removed. 

While Congress is appropriating small sums of money an- 
nuall}', for removing natural obstructions from our rivers, it 
is granting railroad and bridge companies charters to place 
artificial obstructions in them, far more danj^erous to navio-a- 
tion. And if a recent decision of the Supreme Court of the 
United States (thatof insurance companies against the steamer 
Mollie Mollier, at St. Paul) is to determine future suits of a 
similar character, no other reasons may be sought for the 
abandonment of water transportation. In this case the court 
makes the monstrous assumption, that steamboatmen do not 
recognize the right of railroads to bridge the streams, and con- 
sequently run their boats against the piers (and, by inference, 
sacrifice their property, and endanger their own lives, and 
those of their passengers and crew, of course), with the hope 
that they will ultimately compel the removal of the bridge. I 
know nothing of the facts in the case, but am bound to sup- 
pose the verdict was in accordance with the law and the evi- 
dence. But the assumption of Judge Davis in giving the ver- 
dict of the court needs no comment. It is simply terrible to 
contemplate, in connection with the great number of bridges we 
are compelled to encounter, and those that are probably to be 
built. 

These bridge obstructions greatly increase the danger of 
navigation, and render the cost of insurance much higher; in 
fact, it is very ditiicult to effect insurance in good companies, 
at the present time, on our best boats, running upon rivers, at 
any rate of premium. And the rates charged on cargoes gives 
to the railroads an unequal advantage in competing for 
freights. 

There are many other causes that might be mentioned that 



PREDICTION OF INCREASK OF RIVER TRANSPORTATION. 589 

have contributed to the rapid decline of this great interest, 
but enough has been referred to to establish my assumption of 
a rapid decline. No one acquainted with the vast resources of 
this immense valley can suppose depression in water trans- 
portation can long continue. Jjut until the country shall have 
been more fully deyeloj)ed, and the thousands of idle men 
that hang about the cities and towns shall be induced to re- 
move to the country, and engage in producing, instead of con- 
suming, and thus furnish a much larger supply for transporta- 
tion, but little improvement can be anticipated. Then the 
intense anxiety of railroad men to secure freight at any price 
will be less apparent, as they will have what they can carry 
at remunerative rates, leaving a large surplus for water trans- 
portation. 

With the necessary appropriations for the improvement of 
the mouth of the Mississippi and the navigable streams of the 
valley, there is no doubt but that the heavy and bulky pro- 
ducts of the soil, as well as the coal and minerals, can be more 
cheaply transported by water than by any other means. And 
while we never need expect to see return to the river the im- 
mense passenger traffic it once accommodated, in its thousands 
of elegant steamers, we may expect to see the freight traffic 
increased a thousand fold greater than ever before witnessed. 

Having written this much upon the subject of navigation on 
these waters, it would probably be interesting to many of your 
Western readers if 1 should devote another chapter to the 
notice of some of the more prominent individuals connected 
with this navigation, from its earliest history. If circum- 
stances should render accessible to me such information as 
will enable me to do them justice, you may expect to hear 
from me once again." E. W. G. 

Among the many reasons for the lack of success in steam- 
boat business in the past, is from the fact that so many men 
engaged in it without any practical business knowledge, and 
the only rule that governed them in business transactions was 
that they '< could afford to do business a little cheaper than 
their neighbors." 

The very low price at which old, but insurable boats could 
often be purchased for, enabled a small number of idle or 
incompetent men to combine and buy an old boat with which 
they would cause the loss of a whole season to others who 
had a legitimate trade, and were doing it in a legitimate and 
honorable manner. This, of necessity, caused the organi- 
zation of so many packet companies at one period, and pos^,- 



590 Gould's history of eiver xavigatiox, 

poned for a time the final C()lla[)se which has overtaken this 
great industry in all parts of the valley. 

If what the expert steamboat book-keeper says in another 
chapter is true, and I am inclined to think it is, whatever else 
may be said of the character and ability of the earlier boat- 
men, no one will presume to doubt their financial ability, as 
demonstrated in the purchase of steamboats without money, 
and paying for them from their own earnings ! " And still I 
understand that differs but little from the present popular 
mode of " option dealing," in which so many fortunes are 
made and lost, especially lost. The only difference perceptible 
is in the latter case, a small margin is deposited. But the law 
of evolution effects changes in customs, in modes of thinking 
and in results. Once such transactions were unsavory and 
considered "sharp practice," now they are legitimate and 
honorable. The old steamboat speculators lived too soon in. 
the century. 



CHAPTER LXXyill. 

LOW WATER TRAVELING ON THE OHIO. 

PREVIOUS to the introduction of railroad traveling, long 
distances on the Ohio River was attended with much de- 
lay and discomfort, and only when it was absolutely necessary 
was the river resorted to by first-class passengers. 

A great variety of water-craft was invented to facilitate 
this kind of travel, as those that were obliged to travel would 
pay extravagant prices by water rather than take stages. 

This writer calls to mind a trip on the Ohio from Louisville 
to Cairo in 1838 or 1839 when there was but 16 inches of 
water in the channel at Rockport. This was an unusually low 
water year and all old boatmen on the lower Ohio will remem- 
ber the difficulty of crossing the bar at Rockport, and many 
other places but little better. This was during the palmy 
days of the popular firm of Ludlow & Smith, the great 
theatrical men of the "West and South. They, with their large 
company, star and stock actors, vibrated regularly between 
the North and South every year, spending the summer at 
Louisville, Cincinnati and St. Louis, and the winters at New 
Orleans and Mobile. The time was rapidly approaching when 
the " old St. Charles " at New Orleans must be opened. The 
company were all up the Ohio River and the means of getting 
to New Orleans was an important question. To think of 



CAPTAIN HERCULOUS CARROLL AND THE MEDIATOR. 591 

going through by land was out of the question, and hence 
some kind of water-craft must be devised. 

Boats that could run on 16 inches of water were not as 
plenty then as now. But a little side-wheel boat called 
Daisy was found that could be gotten over 16 inches of water 
by some persuasion. 

The large (for that day) commodious passenger steamer 
Mediator, Captain Herculous Carroll, still in the flesh, God 
bless and continue him for ever, was laid up at Cairo, and the 
crew all up at Cincinnati where the boat was owned. They 
made an arrangement with captain Fox of the Daisy to fit up 
two little flat-boats, 16 feet wide and 60 feet long, covered 
with a tight roof with berths on either side to accomodate 
about 50 persons each, with sleeping apartments, leaving a 
wide passage-way between the berths for sitting-room pur- 
poses. These improvised cabins were furnished with bedding, 
chairs, tables, etc. 

Thus was provided the means of transit from Louisville to 
New Orleans, via the Daisy to Cairo, and thence by the Medi- 
ator. Sixty dollars passage and no grumbling. Ludlow and 
Smith'stheatrical company were first in say, and had the choice 
of state rooms. 

They numbered about sixty, and as there was many pas- 
sengers anxious to go South there was no difficulty in filling 
all the rooms. The Daisy was about 100 feet long and her 
cabin was appropriated to the officers of the boat, and the 
ladies in the company, and used for the general dining room. 
Among the passengers I call to mind, Mrs. Russel, — mother of 
Dick the comedian, — her daughter, Mrs. Farren, then just mar- 
ried to " old man Farren; " MissPetre, once the pride of the 
stage ; Mrs. Ben DeBar, — together with DeBar, Farren and Mr. 
Parsons, who afterwards became a methodist preacher of much 
eloquence. All names familiar to old theater goers at that time, 
and many years since. 

The gentlemen were allotted berths in the two flat-boats in 
tow of the Daisy. But as the dining room, the bar, and the la- 
dies were all on the steamboat, it required the vigilance of two 
persuasive clerks, or marshals to keep the boat lighted up 
enough to run at all, and when crossing a very shoal bar, even 
the ladies were called upon to " lighten boat, " but when 
night came all were at liberty to roam over the fleet or on shore, 
as there was no running at night. 

After the first day out, the two annex boats become so at- 
tractive that it was difficult for the few that wanted to sleep 
to do so. 



592 Gould's history of river nauigation. 

Tables were improvised everywhere, and if there were any 
game at cards that was not represented it must have been en- 
tirely new, and even the cabin of the Daisy was often deserted 
in the evening to join the card parties. 

But as al! things terrestrial must have an end, Cairo was 
reached in about ten days, and all that were booked for New 
Orleans were transferred to the Mediator. But as the captain 
and watchman composed the whole crew of that boat, which 
had been laying up for some weeks, the passengers left the 
little Daisy with reluctance. But as the crew of the Mediator 
were on the Daisy, a day or two was sufficient to put things 
in order, and get the boat otf for New Orleans. 

ANOTHER MEMORABLE TRIP ON THE OHIO. 

Twelve mouths later, or in July of the following year, the 
writer had a very different experience over the same course. 
Being on a trip from Galena and Dubuque to Cincinnati, with 
his own boat, the Knickerbocker, found at Cairo a boat from 
New Orleans bound to Louisville, with passengers. But as 
the water was reported too low for her to reach her destina- 
tion the captain had decided to lay up at Cairo, and transfer 
his passengers. Fortunately there were but few passengers 
on board the Knickerbocker and those at Cairo were well ac- 
commodated. 

At Paducah we came up with the Emperor, also from New 
Orleans with quite a number of passengers. She had also de- 
termined to go no further ; not being able to get over Cumber- 
land bar, had returned to Paducah. As all the rooms in the 
ladies' cabin of the Knickerbocker had been taken and but few 
of any kind remained, the inducement to leave nice rooms on a 
large boat like the Emperor and take cots on the floor on a 
much smaller boat, in hot weather, required a good deal of 
sacrifice of feeling and comfort. This the Southern families 
were not entirely prepared to do. But after much consulta- 
tion and a thorouoh investio-ation of the accommodations that 
could be had on the Knickerbocker and the probable chances 
of doing better on the next boat, they determined to make the 
change at once. But when their effects, children and servants 
were gathered together and crowded into a much smaller cabin 
already comfortably filled, those only can appreciate the dis- 
comfort that have experienced it. 

Unfortunately all travelers arc not philosophers and it soon 
became apparent that we had the elements of discord on board, 
and that without great care and foibearance on the part of the 
officers of the boat an open rupture was inevitable. Nothing 
was satisfactory, nothing could be made right. The company 



EARLY SECTIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS. 593 

was divided into four groups or circles, agreeable to the man- 
ner of their coming on board. There was the original party 
coming from St. Louis and the Upper Mississippi. The party 
that came on board at Cairo, the party at Paducah, with one 
more from some other boat not recollected, and they thus 
separated themselves in groups through the cabin, each watch- 
ing and commenting upon the other, and as there were several 
children and servants of various nationalities on board there was 
no lack of material whereby to raise an issue at any moment. 

After making many changes, appealing to the courtesy of 
some gentlemen who had more choice rooms to exchange 
them, and to others to vacate theirs, to accommodate ladies and 
take a cot on the floor, the threatening clouds seemed to break 
away a little and gave promise of a more harmonious feeling 
in the cabin and a more cheerful atmosphere on deck. 

But alas, how deceptive appearances. It was only a calm 
before the storm. Even at that early day, that vital question 
of slavery, that culminated near a quarter of a century later, 
in the firing upon Fort Sumpter in Charleston harl)or never 
failed to arouse the " Southern heart" whenever aggressively 
attacked, especially in the presence of the chattel. 

As was customary at that time, for Southern families to 
travel with their servants and to those who were anxious, 
from either North or South, to raise an issue, a subject was 
never wanting. 

There was, unfortunately, tv/o gentlemen from the North 
occupying a state-room near the ladies cabin, who had been 
appealed to to vacate their room to accommodate a family who 
had none. This they did feel called upon to do, and conse- 
quently a sectional feeling was soon aroused from some un- 
kind remark and lost nothing by being repeated. 

The result was a general irritation all along the line, and an 
open rupture was possible, in which both sexes seemed eager 
for the fray. The clerks of the boat were often appealed to, 
and several times the captain was sent for to allay the ex- 
citement. 

A little explanation and an appeal to the bar-keeper gener- 
ally produced a soothing effect, although not always lasting. 

The late Captain James B. Eads, then a young man of 
seventeen or eighteen, was second clerk on the boat, and with 
the suavity that characterized and popularized him in later 
years, did much to relieve the captain and quiet the irrita- 
tion, especially in the ladies' cabin. The boat was Tirawing all 
the water in the river and the trip was slow and tedious. 

But as we approached Louisville, which was on the 4th of 

38 



594 Gould's history of river navigation. 

July, and there seemed a probable termination to the discom- 
forts of a long low water voyage, a more agreeable atmos- 
phere pervaded through the large company, and some of the 
more patriotic gentlemen proposed we should celebrate the 
day by having a Fourth of July dinner, with the usual ac- 
companiments of an oration, toasts, songs, wines, etc. 

That sentiment prevailed, and there was a reasonable hope 
that the trip that had been begun under so many forebodings 
and prosecuted under so much discomfort and ill-feeling would 
terminate pleasantly. 

FOURTH of JULY ORATION AND DINNER. 

The dinner was prepared from the best that remained of 
the steward's stores, supplemented by a fresh supply from the 
barnyard of a well stocked farm on the bank of the river. 
The bar-keeper had replenished his exhausted stock at Evans- 
ville. The orator of the day had been selected from the legal 
fraternity on board — the toasts prepared and the songs ar- 
ranged. At the hour named dinner was announced — the 

orator of the day, Judge from Vicksburg, at the 

head of the long table, supported on either side by the ladies 
first, then supplemented by the rank and file, all ready to do 
battle to the long looked for last meal on the Knickerbocker. 

Everything went without saying or ceremony, especially 
the champagne corks. The oration was patriotic and very en- 
joyable. The first regular toasts were rousingly responded to. 

But as the wine began to inflame the brain and excite the 
imagination the volunteer toasts grew less patriotic and more 
sectional until at length they became personal and even de- 
scended to reference to the individual gentlemen who had de- 
clined to give up their stateroom in the early part of the 
trip. So violent did some of the party become that pistols 
and knives were drawn, and had it not been for the prompt 
and resolute action of some of the more conservative, the 
peace offering banquet would have resulted as did many sim- 
ilar ones from the same cause in the ante bellum times. 

But as we were approaching the mouth of the canal at 
Louisville, where many of the passengers were to land, the 
excitement subsided and order was restored. 

Thus ended the second low water trip on the Ohio River in 
one year. 

Of the two, the first one was far the most enjoyable, free 
from trial, care or vexation of spirit, and when it comes to 
compensation no practical boatman will select low water to 
earn his money. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 

OLD STEAMBOATMEN. 

Captain Jacob Strader. 

The following biographical sketch is from the pen of Capt. 
J. H. Barker, who was for many years a cotemporary and an 
associate with this old veteran : — 

"Capt. Strader was born in Sussex County, N. J., 1788; 
came to Cincinnati in 1810. J. H. Piatt was one of the 
pioneer merchants of this young town of the West ; came 
from New Jersey in 1805. Mr. Piatt was Mr. Strader's 
uncle ; J. S. was his confidential clerk and book-keeper in the 
office of Mr. Piatt. Later Mr. P. was a banker and the subject 
of this article was installed in the institution, tellerand cashier. 
It was in the years immediately succeeding the war, 1812, 
that many merchants and bankers, went down, making com- 
plete failures. Among the general crash the banking house 
of J. H. Piatt was one of the number, and so the subject of 
this sketch sought other business. In 1820 his river life be- 
gan on the steamer Gen'l Pike. For about a year he was in 
the office, with Mr. Bliss as captain. It was in 1821 his duties 
as commander began, with James Gorman as clerk. Commer- 
cial Bank of Cincinnati having been established in 1831, Capt. 
S. was made a director ; was elected President in 1841, which 
position he retained till his death, which occurred in 1860. 
He was for many years President of the Little Miami Rail- 
road. Had amassed an ample fortune. Left two children, 
one Ben. F. and a daughter, who became the wife of Colin 
Woolley, formerly of Lexington, Ky." 

Capt. Strader was one of the few successful steamboatmen, 
and had sufficient sagacity to retire from it in time to fall into 
line with its great rival and more fortunate successor. 

Coupled with his sagacity, his enterprise contributed largely 
to the development of steam navigation in the West, and 
especially in the establishment of that oldest of all steamboat 
organizations known as the "Cincinnati & Louisville Mail 
Line." 

(595) 



596 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 




BIOGRAPHICAL. 597 



NEW ORLEANS <fc LOUISVILLE PACKET STEAMER TECUMSEH. 

" Built 1826, at Cincinnati; launched with steam up and 
engine in workinor order. 

She was 174 feet in length, twenty-three feet beam, nine 
feet hold; carried 242 tons. 

Floor timbers 6x8, six inches apart, every fourth timber 
double. The frame forward solid. Bottom plank six inches 
thick. 

Ladies' cabin in the hold, aft. Gents' cabin on the main 
deck. 

Six boilers, eighteen feet long, thirty-six inches diameter. 
High pressure engines, eighteen inchcylinder; six feet stroke. 

Time from New Orleans to Louisville, April, 1828, eight 
days, four hours. 

Abe Tyson, Captain. Joe Arthern, Clerk. 

She was owned by B. Hayden &Co. and Samuel and Joseph 
Perry, of Cincinnati." 

Captain '*Alex" Scott. 

Among the old and familiar names that the people of St. 
Louis and the Lower Mississippi will remember with pleas- 
ure in connection with early steamboatmen is that of Capt. 
Scott. He was universally respected as an enterprising, active 
business man and built several good boats which he ran in the 
St. Louis, Pittsburgh and New Orleans trades. Among his 
peculiarities as a boatman was that of always making a hand 
himself at whatever was to be done. 

When the boat was under way he was always to be found on 
deck and about the fire doors, assisting the fireman. When 
landed, he was among the first on the forecastle, assisting the 
men in handling the freight. He never stood a regular watch 
and seldom slept when the boat was running. " By the Lord 
Harry " was his usual bye- word, and an exclamation he often 
used. His good nature and familiarity ♦' about decks " sub- 
jected him to some practical jokes from the crew. Among 
others this is told, and well authenticated. A favorite posi- 
tion, and one he often resorted to when the boat was under 
way, was sitting on the capstan. One night when coming up 
the Mississippi on the Majestic, which was one of his large 
boats, and carried a large battery of boilers, he had located 
himself on the capstan as usual and dropped to sleep. By a 
concerted plan the boys had arranged a joke at the old man's 
expense. They carefully turned the capstan part way around. 



598 Gould's history of river navigation. 

which so reversed his position that he was facing the boilers 
instead of the jack staff, as when he dropped to sleep. At a 
given signal the firemen threw all the fire doors open at once, 
and some one of the crew at the same moment aroused the cap- 
tain, who upon opening his eyes was greatly alarmed in seeing so 
glaring a light from the whole battery of boilers, which he sup- 
posed to be on a descending boat. He jumped from his perch 
on the capstan and cried out at the top of his voice, " Stop 
her, Mr. Pilot, or by the Lord Harry she will be into us." 

The joke was so good that after discerning it, he joined in 
the laugh, but never outlived it. I think the Madison was the 
last boat Capt. Scott ever commanded. 

While the old gentleman was not exorbitant in his views of 
charges for the business he done he contended the competi- 
tion was too great for him, and sold his boat and retired from 
the river in about 1839. As an illustration of his views of 
doing business, this writer, when in charge of the steamboat 
Knickerbocker, met the Madison in New Orleans in the winter 
of 1838 or 1839, and as the river above Cairo had been closed 
by ice for some time, no other boats were in port. There were 
several sugar buyers there from St. Louis all anxious to ship, 
and it was presumed the river would be open by the time we 
could get to Cairo. 

The price of freight was at that time fixed by common con- 
sent at about 75 cents per 100 pounds. The Madison being 
a large boat for that period, wanted a good deal of freight. 
The merchants knew that, and they knew Capt. Scott's ac- 
commodating disposition and appealed for a reduction in 
rates. The result was, the Captain said to me, '* We had 
better reduce the rate to 50 cents per 100, as these are all St. 
Louis merchants," etc , etc. As freight was abundant, and 
the Knickerbocker was not a large carrier, I objected. But 
w;e finally compromised by charging 50 cents on sugar, and 
75 on other goods, and filled up at once. 

After leaving the river Capt. Scott removed to Pittsburgh 
and engaged in the manufacture of iron, agreeable to my re- 
collection. 

In the Missouri Republican of March 20th, 1822, is this 
notice : — 

"The beautiful new steamboat, Pittsburgh & St. Louis 
Packet, Capt. Alex. Scott, arrived here on Thursday last in 
ten days from Pittsburgh. She left this place for Franklin, 
and is now holding her way against the rapid current of the 
Missouri." 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 599 



Captain Isaiah Sellers. 

This name will be recognized by all steamboat officers and 
many travelers on Western waters from the introduction or 
steamboats until the time of his death in 1864. He died at 
Memphis and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis. 
In manner and in character he differed widely from the large 
majority of his river associates. He was a strictly moral 
man, with a pronounced dignity that always commanded re- 
spect. He was a pilot by profession, and proud of his occu- 
pation, although sometimes in charge of boats. He had the 
confidence of business men as well as of the traveling public. 
And it was only necessary for either to know if " Sellers" 
was on board the boat, whether as master or pilot, all would 
be well. The boats he was on were always popular with pas- 
sengers, and especially with ladies. If a gentleman wanted 
to send his wife and family to any point betweeen New Or- 
leans and St. Louis, the boat that Captain Sellers was on 
always had the preference ; and when he was in the pilot 
house the ladies' cabin was generally deserted. 

" Mark Twain," in his very entertaining work of " Life on 
the Mississippi," has so correctly portrayed the characteristics 
of Capt. Sellers, that to attempt to improve upon them would 
be arrogance. In an interview with several pilots on the occa- 
sion of *' Mark's" more recent return to the scenes of his 
earlier experience on the Mississippi, the conversation turned 
upon the lives and the history of their associates of an earlier 
date. 

Among others, that of Capt. Sellers, as a sort of central 
figure, although he had several years previously become a 
central, or a prominent figure in the Bellefontaine Cemetery 
at St. Louis, where his body rests under a very beautiful 
marble monument with a full life-size figure of the Captain 
standing at the wheel of a steamboat, which had been pre- 
pared by himself some years before his death. 

Those who had the privilege of Capt. Sellers' acquaintance 
will bear willing testimony to Mr. " Twain's " estimate of his 
characteristics and nothing '* Mark Twain " has ever written 
more fully illustrates the genuine nobility of Mr. Clemens' 
nature than his closing remarks on Captain Isaiah Sellers. 

TWAIN's REMARKS. 

" He was a fine man, a high-minded man, and greatly re- 
spected, both ashore and on the river. He was very tall. 



600 Gould's history of river navigation. 

well-built and handsome, and in his old age, as I remember 
him, his hair was as black as an Indian's, and his eye and his 
hand were as strong and steady, and his nerve and judgment 
as clear as anybody's, young or old, among the fraternity of 
pilots. He was the patriarch of the craft. He had been a 
keel-boat pilot before the days of steamboats, and a steam- 
boat pilot before any other steamboat pilot, still surviving at 
the time I speak of, had ever turned a wheel — consequently, 
his brethren held him in the sort of awe in which illustrious 
survivors of a by-gone age are always held by their associates. 
He knew how he was regarded, and perhaps this fact added 
some trifle of stifteuing to his natural dignity, which had been 
sufficiently stiff" in his original state. 

He left a diary behind him, but apparently it did not date 
back to his first steamboat trip, which wis said to be in 1811, 
the year the first steamboat disturbed the waters of the Mis- 
sissippi. At the time of his death a correspondent of the St. 
Louis Republican cuWed the following items from the diary : 

" In February, 1825, he shipped on board the Rambler at 
Florence, Alabama, and made during that year three trips to 
New Orleans and back. Then the General Carroll, between 
>iashville and New Orleans. It was during his stay on this 
boat that Capt. Sellers introduced the tap of the bell as a signal 
to heave the lead. Previous to which time, it was the custom 
for the pilot to speak to the men below when soundings were 
wanted. The proximity of the forecastle to the pilot house 
no doubt rendered this an easy matter. But how diff'erent on 
one of our palaces of the present day. 

In 1827 we find him on the steamboat. President a boat 
of 285 tons burden, and plying between Smithland and New 
Orleans. 

Thence he joined the Jubilee, in 1828, and on this boat he 
did his first piloting in the St. Louis trade, his first watch ex- 
tending from Hcrculaneum to St. Genevieve. 

On May 26th, 1836, he completed, and left Pittsburgh in 
charge of the the steamer Prairie, a boat of 400 tons, and the 
first boat with a state room cabin, ever seen at St. Louis. 

In 1857 he introduced the signal for meeting boats, and 
which has with some sliorht change been the universal custom 
to this day ; in fact, is rendered obligatory by act of Con- 
gress. 

As general items of river history we quote the following 
marginal notes from his general log: — 

" In March, 1825, Gen. Lafayette left New Orleans for St. 
Louis on the low pressure steamer N.atchez. " In January, 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 601 

1828, twenty-one steamers left New Orleans wharf, to cele- 
brate Gen. Jackson's visit to that city." 

" In 1830 the North American made the run from New Or- 
leans to Memphis in six days. Best time on record to that 
date. It has since been made in two days and ten hours. In 
1831, Red River cut off was made." 

" In 1832 the steamer Hudson made the run, from White 
River to Helena, a distance of 75 miles in 12 hours. This was 
the theme of much talk and speculation among parties directly 
interested." 

" In 1839, Great Horse Shoe Cut-off was made." 

Up to the present time, a term of thirty-five years, we as- 
certain by a reference to the diary, he has made 460 round 
trips to New Orleans, which gives a distance of one million 
one hundred and four thousand miles, on an average of eighty- 
six miles per day. 

Whenever Capt. Sellers approached a party of gossipy pilots, 
talking always ceased. For this reason, whenever six pilots 
were gathered together there would always be one or two 
newly fledged ones in the lot, and the elder ones would always 
be showing off before these poor fellows, making them sorrow- 
fully feel how callow they were, how recent their nobility, and 
how humble their degree, by talking largely and vaporously 
of old time experiences on the river, always making it a 
point to date everything back as far as they could, so as to 
make the new men feel their newness to the sharpest degree 
possible, and enyy the old stagers in like degree. And how 
complacent bald-heads would swell and brag, and lie and date 
backy ten and twenty years, and how they did enjoy the effect 
produced upon the marveling and envying youngsters, and 
perhaps just at this stage of the proceedings the stately figure 
of Capt. Isaiah Sellers, that real and only genuine son of 
antiquity, would drift solemnly into the midst. Imagine the 
size of the silence that would result on the instant and imagine 
the feelings of those bald-heads, and the exultation of their 
recent audience when the ancient Captain would begin to drop 
casual and indifferent remarks of a reminiscent nature about 
islands that had disappeared and cut-offs that had been made 
a generation before the oldest bald-head in the company had 
€ver set his foot in a pilot-house. 

Many and many a time did this ancient mariner appear on 
the scene in the above fashion, and spread disaster and humil- 
iation around them. If one might believe the pilots, he always 
dated his islands back to the misty dawn of river history, and 
he never used the same island twice and never did he use one 



602 Gould's history of river navigation. 

island that then existed, or give any one a name that any one 
present was old enough to have heard of before. 

If you might believe the pilots, he was always conscientiously 
particular about little details. Never spoke of the State of 
Mississippi, for instance. No, he would say, when the State 
of Mississippi was where the State of Arkansas now is ; and 
would never speak of the State of Louisiana or Missouri in a 
general way, but leave an incorrect impression on your 
mind. 

No, he would say, when Louisiana was up the river further, 
or when the Missouri was on the Illinois side." 

The old gentleman was not of literary turn or capacity, but 
he used to get down brief paragraphs of plain practical infor- 
mation about the river and sign them Mark Twain and give 
them to the Neiv Orleans Picayune. 

They related to the stage and condition of the river and 
were accurate and valuable, and thus far they contained no 
poison. But in speaking of the stage of the river to-day, at 
a given point, the Captain was pretty apt to drop in a little 
remark about this being the first time he had seen the water 
so high, or so low, at that particular point for forty nine 
years, and now and then he would mention Island so and so, 
and follow it with parentheses, with some such observation 
as "disappeared in 1807, if I remember rightly." In these 
antique interrogations lay poison and bitterness for the old 
pilots, and they used to chaff the " Mark Twain" paragraphs 
with unsparing mockery. 

It so chanced that one of those paragraphs became the text 
for my first newspaper article. 

I burlesqued it broadly, very broadly, stringing my fantas- 
tics out to the length of eight hundred or a thousand words. 

I was a ''cub" at the time; I showed my performance to 
some pilots, and they eagerly rushed it into print, in the New 
Orleans " True Delta." It was a great pity, for it did no- 
body any worthy service, and it sent a pang deep into a good 
man's great heart. There was no malice in my rubbish. But 
it laughed at the Captain. 

It laughed at a man to whom such a thing was new and 
strange and dreadful. I did not know then, though I do now, 
that there is no suffering comparable with that which a private 
person feels, when he is for the first time pilloried in print. 

Captain Sellers did me the honor to profoundly detest me, 
from that day forth. 

When I say he did me the honor, I am not using empty 
words. It was a verv real honor to be in the thoughts of so 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 603 

great a man as Captain Sellers, and I had wit enough to ap- 
preciate it and be proud of it. 

It was distinction to be loved by such a man. But it was a 
much greater distinction to be hated by him, because he 
loved scores of people, but he did not sit up nights to hate 
any one — but me. 

He never printed another paragraph while he lived, and he 
never again signed *' Mark Twain^' to any thing. 

At the time the telegraph brought the news of his death, I 
was on the Pacific Coast. I was a fresh, new journalist, and 
nom de guerre. So I confiscated the ancient mariner's dis- 
carded one, and have done my best to make it remain what it 
was in his hands — a sign and a symbol, and warrant whatever 
is found in its company may be found as the petrified truth. 
How I succeeded would not be modest in me to say. 

The captain had an honest pride in his profession and an 
abiding love for it. He ordered his monument before he 
died, and kept it near him until he did die. It stands over 
his grave now in Bellefountaine Cemetery, St. Louis. It is his 
image in marble, standing on duty at the pilot wheel. And 
worthy to stand and confront criticism, for it represents a man 
who in life would have staid there until he burned to a cinder, 
if duty required it." 

Captain John W. Keiser. 

Among the few pioneer boatmen of the Missouri River, of 
which there is any public record attainable, the name of the 
gentleman at the head of this article will be recognized as 
one of the most prominent, worthy and persevering of all 
those that have made their last voyage over its turbulent 
waters, and cast anchor in a haven free from the cares and anxi- 
eties attendant upon the life of a Missouri river boatmen. 

He was born in Fayette County, Kentucky , in 1801 ; moved 
to Missouri in 1828; located in Boone county. Built the 
second steam mill West of the Mississippi. (The first having 
been built at St. Charles.) 

In 1837 or '8 his mill, which was built near Columbia, Mo., 
was burned. 

He immediately went to St. Louis with the intention ot 
procuring materials to rebuild his mill. His friends, Pierre 
Chouteau, Jr., and Capt. Sarpie, induced him to purchase an 
interest in the steamer St. Peters, a single engine boat, built 
by them for the /if)- <mJe, which was the largest commercial 
interest at that time on the Missouri River. 



604 Gould's history of river navigation. 

This was his first experience as a boatman. But at that 
early date his knowledge of steam machinery, and the versa- 
tility of his talent soon placed him in the front rank with 
many of much longer experience. 

His next boat was the Antelope, which he purchased at St. 
Louis, and immediately took her to Pittsburgh; had her 
lengthened and her name changed to Trapper. 

The American Fur Company bought the Trapper, and 
Capt. Keiser built the Shawnee, which was named by Mr. 
Chouteau in honor of that tribe of Indians, who were good 
customers of his and his personal friends. He built, in 1843, 
the Emelie, named in honor of Mrs. Chouteau. 

In 1844 he retired, until 1847, when he purchased the 
Bertrand, and resumed his old trade in the Missouri. 

The following year he purchased the Julia from Capt. Joe 
Converse. 

She was destroyed in the great fire at St. Louis in 1849. 

Soon after this Capt. Keiser was taken sick and retired to 
his home at Roachport, from which attack he never recovered, 
but crossed the river for the last time, in the vigor of man- 
hood in 1849, leaving an interesting family, and a worthy 
example of strict integrity, honor, and indomitable persever- 
ance, to which all that had the privilege of Captain Reiser's 
acquaintance will bear willing testimony. 

Captain Joseph Throckmorton. 

Among the old and prominent boatmen in the valley of the 
Mississippi whose names were long and familiarly connected 
with early navigation, none will be remembered with more 
pleasure to those acquainted on the rivers above St. Louis 
than that of Capt. Joseph Throckmorton. 

Among the first steamboats he commanded was the Red 
Rover, engaged in the Galena and St. Louis trade. 

Subsequently, or in 1830, he and Capt. G. W. Atcherson 
built the steamboat Winnebago, which they employed in the 
same trade. 

In 1832 he built the warrior, which was a side-wheel boat, 
without cabin accommodations, but she towed a barge for the 
accommodation of passengers. During that year the Black 
Hawk war broke out, and the Warrior was employed to trans- 
port the government troops under Gen'l Atkinson. At the 
battle of Bad Axe, on the Mississippi, a short distance above 
Prairie du Chien, the Warrior and her crew took an active 
part and, while not seriously injured, the boat carried the scars 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 605 

from Indian bullets for some mouths. After continuing to 
run the Warrior for several years on the Upper Mississippi, 
he built the St. Peter in 1835, and in 1836 the Ariel, and in 
the following year the Burlington, and in 1842 the Gen'l 
Brooke. 

Subsequently he built and purchased several boats which he 
ran on the Missouri. 

His experience in river navigation was no exception to the 
general result. 

While he was an exceedingly careful and competent com- 
mander, and popular with all who knew him, no qualifications 
could overcome the embarrassments all had to contend with 
in river navigation, and the few that have succeeded are the 
exception. 

For several years (about 1850) Captain Throckmorton rep- 
resented in St. Louis a Tennessee Insurance Company and those 
that had occasion to transact business with that company will 
call to mind the agreeable suave manner in which the}^ were al- 
ways received, and their claims promptly, if they had such, 
adjusted. 

If that Insurance agency did not succeed in St. Louis it was 
not the fault of the agent. 

Subsequently Captain Throckmorton returned to the occu- 
pation he had so long and so honorably represented, but with 
far less success than his long and useful career entitled him 
to. He crossed the river that ferries but one way in 1872 — 
aged 72 years. 

Captain George W. Atcherson 

Was one of the pioneer boatmen on the Upper Mississippi. 
While not the first, he was early engaged in the navigation of 
steamboats. The Winnebago came out in 1830, in which 
he was interested with Captain Throckmorton, and continued 
to run her on the Upper Mississippi for several years. He 
hud three brothers, John, Mark and Samuel, all of whom were 
engaged on the river at later periods and under his influence 
and assistance. 

His only child, George N., also followed the river as the 
only profession he ever engaged in, but died before his 
ability as a boatman was developed. The father was not a 
fast practical boatman, although an excellent builder and 
built several of the best boats then afloat. In fact the 
Irene, the lone, the Glaucus, the Governor Dodge, the 
Amaranthe and before these, the Missouri Belle, are all 



606 Gould's history of river navigation. 

names that will revive pleasant recollections in the minds 
of many travelers on Western waters in the earlier years of 
steam navigation. 

Captain Atcherson often commanded his own boats and 
was one of the most genial and attentive masters to his 
passengers that was then on the river and even up to the pres- 
ent day but few boats are more popular than were Captain G. 
W. Atcherson's. 

Captain C. K. Garrison and Wm. C. Ralston. 

The subjects of the following comments can hardly be con- 
sidered among the class known as " old boatmen." But as 
there is no class to which they properly belong, we will asso- 
ciate them with a very worthy class of old boatmen and are 
sure neither will be dishonored by the association. 

It is to be regretted that the friends of many of those who 
once jfigured so prominently, and have now crossed the river 
for the last time, have not availed themselves of the oppor- 
tunity presented in this work to bear testimony to the nobility 
of character of many who once stood high in the estimation 
of those with whom they were associated and are now only 
remembered by their relatives and intimate friends. 

Few of the present generation living in the Mississippi 
Valley will recollect Wra. C. Ralston from personal acquaint- 
ance. Although his connection with river navigation was of 
short duration, his subsequent life and brilliant career in 
California entitle him to mention among the earliest prominent 
boatmen of this valley. 

While it is not possible to follow him through his short, 
eventful life with the data at hand, a brief synopsis will re- 
call him to the memory of many who knew something of his 
later history. 

This writer's acquaintance with Mr. Ralston dates from 
about 1842, when he was acting as clerk on the Constitution. 

When the California gold excitement broke out Capt. Gar- 
rison decided to sell his boat, the Convoy, and his interests 
in St. Louis and proceeded at once to California, taking with 
him a number of others, among whom was Mr. Ralston, then 
a young man not over 25 years of age. 

Capt. Garrison's sharp perceptive faculties, which made 
him so prominent a figure in all his after life, had enabled him 
to see in young Ralston the brains and the vim he admired. 

Their trip across the isthmus was full of annoyances and 
delays that all were subject to during that rush and until the 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 607 

railroad was built. This suggested to Garrison that that was 
a point he could not afford to overlook, and while everybody 
was rushing on to California, believing that to be the El Do- 
rado, he saw a sure thing on the Isthmus, if any one could be 
induced to locate there. 

Ralston was his man ; Garrison staked him, gave him an 
interest and he opened an exchange or banking house, and for 
two or three years did a very lucrative business. In the 
meantime Garrison went to San Francisco and soon climbed 
to the top round of the ladder, became Mayor of the city and 
was instrumental in introducing many greatly needed reforms 
in their municipal government, and was an important factor 
in many business enterprises, out of which he laid the found- 
ation of a large fortune. He subsequently removed to New 
York where he died a few years since, leaving a fortune esti- 
mated at $3,000,000, and a young wife with no children. 

Ralston subsequently located in San Francisco and engaged 
in banking, and became interested in mining and every new 
enterprise that promised success. 

To no other man was San Francisco so much indebted for 
its rapid development and gigantic strides as to Wm. C. 
Ralston. No one appealed to him for assistance to open a 
mine, build a steamboat, arailroad, a hotel, or a manufactory 
without receiving it. 

His financial ability placed him in the front rank among 
bankers, miners, brokers and business men. 

He soon became president, director and cashier of the Bank 
of California, so far as its business was concerned, although 
he was nominally only the cashier. Our acquaintance was 
renewed 10 or 12 years after he left the Mississippi. He was 
the soul of generosity and his hospitality knew no bounds. 

His residence, 25 miles from San Francisco, was palatial 
and accommodatd 50 guests sumptuously. A description of 
it has so often been given by tourists and reporters a repetition 
is unnecessary in this place. It was reached by railroad, al- 
though Mr. Ralston always drove his own team over the road 
twice a day in good weather, which is about 10 months out of 
12. He always drove two and sometimes four horses in an 
open carriage, and his time was limited to two hours each 
way, with one change of horses half way. 

His stables were stocked with the best horses that could be 
found, and anything less than a three-minute horse was of no 
use to him except on his ranch. Forty horses was not an un- 
usual number for him to keep, and I have counted 52 different 
vehicles of his on the place at one time. His house was al- 



608 Gould's histoky of ijiver navigation. 

ways open and the general rendezvous for all respectable 
visitors to the Pacific Coast. 

His application to business was untiring, and however many 
visitors he might have at his house it did not interfere with 
his habits. He always started for the city in time to be at 
bank when it opened and left it in time to meet the guests re- 
maining at his home at (> o'clock dinner. Music and dancing, 
to those that enjoyed that recreation, were always on the pro- 
gramme and always participated in by himself. In fact his 
residence was more like a fine hotel at a fashionable watering- 
place than a private house. 

But at length a panic came, when he least expected it, and 
he was not able to bridge over the chasm his large drafts upon 
the bank had made. The run upon the bank was so great 
they were compelled to close the doors and call the police to 
clear the house. At no time since the famous vigilance com- 
mittee was disbanded had the excitement in San Francisco run 
so high. 

A casual examination of the bank's books revealed the fact 
that Ralston's account was overdrawn some $2,000,000. A 
meeting of the directors was called immediately, when he 
tendered all his stocks, real estate and everything he possessed 
in liquidation for his indebtedness, and it was said if a judic- 
ious disposition could be made of his etlects, the bank would 
not be a heavy loser. 

He had not intended to defraud the bank, but had failed to 
expose his over-drafts for several years, with the expectation 
of making them good when the tide of speculation turned in 
his favor. 

After mature deliberation the directors determined to ask 
his resignation. 

He was called to their room, and after hearing their decision, 
passed imimediately out at the rear door of the bank and waa 
never again seen alive by any one of his familiar acquaintances. 

His body was found floating in the West Bay, about one 
mile from the bank, three hours later. 

His proud spirit could not endure the mortification he felt 
when the directors discarded him. The announcement of his 
death produced greater excitement in the city than did the 
failure of the Bank of California, two days before. 

The overdrawing of his account was the first mistake, al- 
though not done with the intention of robbing the stock- 
holders. 

The second and last act was a far more fatal mistake. Had 
he had the moral courage to withstand the disgrace he prob- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 609 

ably would not have been prosecuted, and within 12 months 
would have recovered the confidence of the public if not his 
position in the Bank of California, which soon made good its 
capital and resumed l>u.siness. 

Mr. Ralston's position in the bank was subsequently filled 
by his very worthy assistant cashier, Thomas Brown, who 
still occupies it, to the great satisfaction of all who have busi- 
ness with that bank or are casual visitors to the Pacific Slope. 

He, too, was a graduate from the office of a Mississippi 
steamboat, and will \>e remembered with pleasure by the few 
who still survive and were thus connected in the Jif ties. 

An incident is related in which the peculiar characteristics 
of Mr. Ralston are strikingly illustrated. 

A Mr. Ilarrick Martin, living in St. Louis, became ac- 
quainted with Ralston before he went to California, and, hav- 
ing so much confidence in him, he lent him $500 to provide 
an outfit. Years passed on and Mr. Martin removed to New 
York with no correspondence between them. He subse- 
quently became reduced and was in great want. 

A mutual friend knowing the circumstances told Mr. Rals- 
ton of the situation. He expressed great sorrow at his bene- 
factor's circumstances, and inquired for his address. A short 
time after this interview one of the banks in New York noti- 
fied Mr. Martin that there was a credit there of $10,000 sub- 
ject to his order. 

Presuming there was some mistake he called at the request 
of the president, and greatly to his astonishment found it as 
stated. And also that his confidence in " Billy Ralston " had 
not been misplaced. 

Among all the worthy and the unworthy and talented men 
that have ever graduated from the deck of a Mississippi River 
steamboat probably no two have ever developed so much 
financial ability and business enterprise as did Messrs. Garri- 
son and Ralston. 

Their connection with the river was not of long duration. 
But had it continued it is evident they would have left their 
impress upon its commerce. But their sagacity soon satisfied 
them that it must always be subject to a competition inherent 
in itself, if not from railroads (which had not in their time 
become so important factors), which must inevitably reduce 
the profits of transportation by river below a paying basis. 

39 



610 



Gould's history of river navigation. 




BrOOKArillCAL. 611 



The. Venekahle " Davy Hiner." 

(From an old timer.) 

'• A generation or so ago, there were but few steamboats that 
could carry 1,500 bales of cotton; few that drew less than 
five feet when light ; few that were not heavy on fuel ; few 
that could run from New Orleans to Vicksburg in four days; 
few that failed to make money — and lots of it; and few, if 
any, that had more than one captain at a time, either on board 
or ashore. Now, there are few that have not a full supply 
of captains from the agents to the chambermaids ; the most 
prominent, generally, is the porter, each ones " runs the 
boat." Capt. David Iliner is of the old .school. Once, in com- 
mand of a fine boat, the mate wanted a new hawser; the stew- 
ard wanted a new cooking stove ; the engineer wanted a new 
doctor, the porter was bound to have a new badge for his hat ; 
the chambermaid wanted a pane of glass in the window of her 
stateroom, and would have it. Capt. David wanted a nevv 
crew, and got it." 

This manufacture of commodores by the dozen, cheap, too, 
and other toadyism, and again the gratitication of personal en- 
mity by epithets to boats, is entirely foreign to the province of 
this river department of a dignified daily newspaper and to 
the interest of the paper, the dignity of the public journal 
should not be prostituted in this way. Make yourself plenti- 
ful on the levee and useful to your employer. This river de- 
partment of a pai)er should be manned by a skillful pilot, 
carefully guided down the channel, avoiding the " rocks and 
shoals" of poetry, politics and all that may lead to contro- 
versy." 

Capt. Henry W. Smith. 

No man in the period in which he was engaged on the river 
excelled him in enterprise, ingenuity, and perseverance. 

His advent on the river, from a country store in Missouri, 
was in the year 1855. 

The General Lane, a Missouri River boat, gave him a posi- 
tion as second clerk. 

From that position he soon succeeded in elevating himself 
to the command of a boat in the Missouri, and soon after to 
the St. Louis and New Orleans trade, where he continued un- 
til the breaking out of the war. 

Soon after that he was appointed inspector of hulls by the 
board of underwriters, which position he filled with credit and 



6i2 Gould's history' '©^ /river navigation. 

satisfaction until he was appointed to the oftice of Superin- 
tendent of the Sij.iIidUis/iS/ Menipijiis Packet Co. 

At the death of Capt. John J. Roe, Capt. §. succeeded to 
the presidency, under ivhose administration the company dc- 
Vfelo\Wd ilito ohe-of the'gi'edt possibilities. 
'"fib co'mprchen'ded the situhtion,'' and moved to the front, 
aind' the re'sillt ^tliS a' blotter And a!'fAfet61- line of boats than had 
evel' beforfe beeil'b'ui'lt'i^n' Weste'i'h* waters, except the boats 
dWnfed'bj^the Cii'icini'i'aU''& LottiSville ' Mail Line, was built 
slnd put into the- ttiade. "; inr.i.p; > r;/..., nm. 
''Hfr'ha(i''a' riiethitnicitl 'ey6''attd' his genius enabled him to 
dompreh^nd aWitiiproVtEfiiient'if suWested.' He was quick to 
p»ii"beiVev and hltld deicisiolli ' of 1 character 'Siifficient to decide 
\\^ithout delay. '"'■•' ■ '1; "■' ' ■ ' '■'■" " ' ' 

Hfe ^<|'as gienial in teiiipel*artieilt,'ftHd frbltel'nal in his associa- 
ti'onsJ ' All who knew him i'espected his judgement, and ad- 
mii'fe'd his frankness. His executive ability placed him in the 
fVOhtrank as a presiding Officer in politidrtl or' business organi- 
zations, arid his gOdd, practical, cortuiioh'sens^ made him a 
valuable auxiliary in all new enterprises. ' 

The loss to the community of steam liavigatioii interests in 
the West suffered more from the early death of Capt. Henry 
Smith than from that of any other that could have occurred. 
' 'lie passed ii way in 1870, leaving an' interesting family, and 
a'hOSt of friends and admirers. "'• -''l'') •''' 

iJiri!i| li>r iijii/ xIj.J/. (i.it nil Ml Ir.iirl ) t.i 

.JolllJ llllll/yl- I: /'' i.-HllW;!H 111 l.lljolj. I-MjI.I 

'""'' Mirk^Twk'i^i's''*' '^j^perieii'^y 'llutii^^'hi's life on 

the Mississippi, whether rieal' Or 'ideal, potti-ays so much that is 
true to life and in accordance with facts known to many still 
living, no better illustration dieedbd feoughtthan is given in his 
very interesting narratives. I have therefore taken the liberty 
to wake som^ quotations; wfeich I am satisfied will be enjoyed 
by all who read therb, although they ittaf^ have read them be- 
fore: ''^' "' ■'•'"'' Yi)iiiH'> I iili/il ,i.>7i! -nl 

During his apprenticeship and while hte' was yet " Bixby's 
Cu'bj'^ for ^ome cause he" \\ra^ tl-ansfei^^ed to the steamer Penn- 
sylvania, Capt. John Klinfelter, the subject' of this sketch. A 
pilot by the Tifitne of Brown, who seen^s to have been a very 
disagreeable fefUow,' besid^^ be'ihg a^m^n of no education and 
destitute 'of priticiple^'Was' en'jployed' 6rt the boat at the time. 
Capt. Klinefelter' swell known kindnetes and good nature sub- 
jected him to rudeneiss ahd' imposition from this kind of ill- 
grairied over-bearing men, although they were in his employ, 



BIOGRAPHICAL, ni . 'iir'.r, 613 

and he would submit to almost anything, b^fdr© he would jdis-t 
charge them. ff? '•-;•; in-.,\ r. 

The following incident so faithfully illustrateshis dharweter 
and that of a domineering, disageeable pilot of rtheolddntirfae, 
whether his name is Brown, Jones or Smith^m ro^ie^titioniof it 
here will be excused. Mr. Twain continuesfc"-*— , >;; / i ti;, ii 

"Two trips later I got into serious trouble-. iBro\*aiwa» 
steering, I was "pulling down." My younger broth'^v aplJ 
peared on the hurricane deck, and shouted to Brovvm/to fitop 
at some landing a mile or so below. Brown 'gave noiintirfaa- 
tion that he had heard anything. But that was hisway, hft 
never condescended to take any notice of an under olerk. 'iThe 
wind was blowing, Brown was deaf (although he lalways pre4 
tended he was not) and I very much doubted if( he. had beard 
the order. If I had had two heads I would have spoken.- 
But as Iliad only one I thought it would be judicious toitake 
care of it, so I kept still. Presently, sure enoughi-sbe wenti 
sailing past the plantation. fu.vtni orO 

Capt. Klinefelter appeared on the deck and said: '* Lather 
come around, sir, let her come around." Did not ILenry tfell 
you to land here? No, sir. I sent him up to do iti' He did 
not come up, and that's all the good it done, the dod^-de-rued 
fool. He never said anything. Didn't you hear hitn? asked 
the captain of me. Of course I did not want to be mixed up. 
in the business, but there was no way to avoid it. So I said^ 
"Yes, sir." ■ I- •, 

I knew what Brown's next remark would be before he uttered 
it, it was — " Shut your mouth, you never heard anything)©! 
the kind." ...,;-, 

I closed my mouth according to instructions. An hour latert 
Henry entered the pilot house unaware of what had beefn, 
going on. • , I 

He was thoroughly an inoffensive boy and I was sorry tolsee 
him come, for I knew Brown would have no pity on him. i; 

Brown began straightway, " Here, why didn't you tell mia 
we had to land at the plantation? " "I did tell you, Mti 
Brown." " Its a lie ! " I said — " You lie yourself. He did 
tell you." r[ 

Brown glared at me in unaffected surprise and for as muchj 
as a moment he was entirely speechless. Then he shouted to 
me — " I will attend to your case in half a minute." Then 
to Henry — " and you leave the pilot house, out with you." 
It was pilot law and must be obeyed. The boy started out 
and had his foot on the upper step outside the door when 
Brown with a sudden access of fury picked up a ten pound 



614 Gould's history of river navigation. 

lump of coal and sprang after him. But I was between, with 
a heavy stool, and I hit Brown a good honest blow which 
stretched him out. 

I had committed the crime of crimes, I had lifted my hand 
against a pilot on duty. I supposed I was booked for the pen- 
itentiary sure, and could not l)e booked any sooner if I went 
on and squared my long account with this person while I had 
the chance. Consequently T stuck to him and pounded him 
with my fists a considerable time. 

I do not know how long, the pleasure of it probably made 
it seem longer than it really was. 

But in the end he struggled free and jumped up and sprang 
to the wheel — a very natural solicitude, for all this time there 
was this steamboat tearing down the river at the rate of fifteen 
miles an hour and nobody at the helm ! However Eagle bend 
was two miles wide, at this bank full stage and correspondingly 
long and deep and the boat was steering herself straight down 
the river and taking no chances. Still that was only luck — 
a body might have found her charging into the woods. 

Perceiving at a glance that the Pennsylvania was in no dan- 
ger, Brown gathered up the big spy glass, war club fashion 
and ordered me out of the pilot house, with more than Ca- 
manche bluster. But I was not afraid of him now, so, instead 
of going, I tarried, and criticised his grammar, I reformed his 
precious speeches for him and put them into good English, 
calling his attention to the advantage of pure English over the 
bastard dialect of the Pennsylvanian colliers whence he was 
extracted, He could have done his part to admiration in a 
cross-fire of vituperation of course, but he w\as not equipped 
for this kind of controversy. So he presently laid aside his 
glass and took the wheel, muttering and shaking his head, and 
I retired to the bench. 

The racket had brought everybody to the hurricane deck, 
and I tumbled when I saw the old captain looking up from 
the midst of the crowd. I said to myself, now / am, done for ! 
For although as a rule he was so fatherly and indulgent to- 
wards the boat's family, and so patient of minor shortcomings, 
he could be stern enough when the fault was worth it. I tried 
to imagine what he would do to a cub pilot who had been 
guilty of such a crime as mine, committed on a boat guard 
deep with costly freight and aliv^e with passengers. Our 
watch was nearly ended. I thought I would go and hide some- 
where until I got a chance to slide ashore. 

So I slipped out of the pilot house and ran down the steps 
and around to the Texas door — and was in the act of glidino: 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 615 

within — when the captain confronted me. I dropped my 
head and he stood over me in silence a moment or two then 
said expressively, " Follow me." 

I dropped into his wake and followed him into his parlor in 
the forward end of the Texas. We were alone now; he closed 
the doors and sat down. I stood before him. 

He looked at me some little time, then said : 

" So you have been fighting Mr. Brown? " 

I answered meekly, " Yes, sir." 

" Do you know that is a very serious matter? " 

"Yes, sir." 

"Are you aware this boat was plowing down the river fully 
five minulcs with no one at the wheel ? " 

" Yes, sir." 

" Did you strike him first?" 

" Yes, sir." 

"What with?" 

"A stool, sir." 

"Hard?" 

" Middling, sir." 

" Did it knock him down? " 

"He— he fell, sir." 

" Did you follow it up, did you do anything further?" 

"Yes, sir." 

" What did you do?" 

" Pounded him, sir." 

" Pounded him? " 

" Yes, sir." 

" Did you pound him much, that is severely? " 

" One might call it that, sir ; may be." 

" I am deuced glad of it ! Hark ye ! Never mention that I 
said that. You have been guilty of a great crime, and don't 
you ever be guilty of it again on this boat. But lay for him 
ashore. Give him a good sound threshing, do you hear? I'll 
pay the expenses. Now go, and not a word of this to anybody. 
Clear out with you. You have been guilty of a great crime, 
you whelp." 

I slid out, happy with the sense of a close shave and a 
mighty deliverance, and I heard him laughing to himself and 
slapping his fat legs after I closed his door. 

When Brown came off watch he went straight to the captain, 
who was talking with some passengers on the boiler-deck, and 
demanded that I be put ashore at New Orleans, and added 
" I'll never turn another wheel on this boat while-that cub 



616 Gould's history or river navigation. 

stays." The captain said — "but he need'nt come around 
when you are on watch, Mr. Brown." 

" I wont even stay on the same boat with him, one of us 
has got to go ashore." 

"Very well," said the captain, '■^let it he yourself," and re- 
sumed his talk with the passengers. 

Any one who knew captain Klinfelter intimately will never 
doubt the truth of this incident in Mr. Twain's narrative. 

Nor should they doubt the untimely end of the unfortunate 
Mr. Brown, or of the steamer Pennsylvania on the return 
voyage, as described further along in the narrative. This 
writer, with the steamer James E. Woodruff, on her way to 
New Orleans, was the first to reach the wreck of the ill-fated 
Pennsylvania after the explosion, as it lay at the Tennessee 
shore at the little town of Austin some fifteen miles above 
Helena, some four hours after the tragic event. 

Mr. Clemens does not overdraw the picture. It required 
a more graphic pen even than his to do it justice. 

Many of the wounded who were able to be removed from 
the, open flatboat after the destruction of the steamboat and 
desired to return South, from whence they came, were taken 
on board of the Woodruff and made as comfortable as scalded 
and dying people can be, stretched along the cabin floor on 
mattresses, with the mercury at 100. 

Those that survived were taken to New Orleans ; those that 
did not were interred on the banks of the Mississippi (where 
thousands have found a temporary resting place) until the 
shifting and turbid currents of that treacherous stream shall 
have invaded the sacred spot, and not only robbed the grave 
of its treasure, but engulfed the grave and its surroundings. 

Most of the passengers and the crew belonged at the North, 
and were taken to Memphis on the first boat going up stream. 

The A. T. Lacy was the first boat from New Orleans 
to St. Louis, after his conflict with pilot Brown. This was 
at a period which " Mark Twain" says pilots were entire mas- 
ters of the situation, and were the autocrats on any boat upon 
which they were employed. And it was not possible for any 
captain to employ a pilot only at the option of the pilot's 
association. Thus captain Klinfelter was obliged to retain 
Mr. Brown, who declined to remain on the boat unless " Bix- 
by's cub" was sent ashore, which was done, and his life 
probably saved in consequence. 

Mr. Brown with many others were never seen after the ex- 
plosion of the Pennsylvania. 

Captain Klinfelter continued on the river a few years after 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 617 

the loss of the Pennsylvania. But subsequently retired and 
purchased a home in Bunker Hill, in Illinois, where he spent 
the remaining years of his life in the quiet enjoyment of his 
family, after a useful and varied experience in the precarious 
occupation of a boatman, beloved by all who knew him. 

Captain D. Smith Harris. 

One of the oldest boatmen now living (1889) is Captain 
Harris, of Galena, Ills., if not in years, in the length of time 
he has been in active service either as a keel-boat or a steam- 
boatman. In 1834, he, in company with a brother, R. Scribe 
Harris, built a little steamboat at Galena called Joe Davis 
which they ran from the lead mines to St. Louis for two or 
three years. She was a diminutive craft, with no accommo- 
dations for passengers and but little for any kind of business. 

But the " lead^mines " of Galena were then producing large 
quantities of ore and attracting a good deal of emigration. 
The Harris brothers were alive to the situation and with their 
characteristic energy, in 1837 built a much larger boat at Cin- 
cinnati called Smelter, which they designed, and ran in the 
trade between Cincinnati and Galena with flatterinfir success. 

No boat up to that time, on the upper Mississippi had 
equaled in speed or capacity the Smelter. She always 
had more passengers than she could well accommodate and 
was run with a kind of eclat that characterized all fast boats 
at a more recent date. 

After the Smelter the two Harris brothers built several 
other good boats which they continued in the Upper Missis- 
sippi trade ; among them was the Otter, the Pizzaro, 
the Preemption and some others. 

They bought the West Newton after emigration set into 
Minnesota and ran her through from St. Louis to St. Paul, 
early in the history of that very active and profitable trade. 
They were cotemporary with Capt. Orrin Smith, who was 
the first President of the " Galena, Dubuque and Minnesota 
Packet Company," principal office at Galena. Captain Smith 
was among the pioneer boatmen in the Cincinnati, St. 
Louis and Galena trade. He built the Fulton, the Brazil, 
the New Brazil and ran them all in that trade and made 
for himself an enviable reputation as a good boatman and a 
high toned companionable gentleman. No man stood higher 
in the estimation of the public and in the hearts of those who 
knew him best, than did Captain Orrin Smith. His memory 
will live long and green in the recollection of his cotem- 
poraries. 



618 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Captain St. Clair Thomasson. 

Among the old boatmen in the antebellum period there is 
none that will be remembered with more pleasure than the 
subject of this sketch by those who had the pleasure of travel- 
ing on his boats. 

Capt. Thomasson was born in Louisiana. His father was 
an American and his mother a French woman. By some in- 
felicity in the family young St. Clair left his home at an early 
age and never after returned to it or claimed any kinship. 

The best record extant of him places him in New Orleans 
in 1835, engaged with the late Capt. Theo. Shute in supplying 
plantation stores with dry goods, boots, shoes, etc. This 
trade they continued until 1843, when they embarked on the 
river and built the steamer Baton Rouge which they ran be- 
tween New Orleans and that city. Their next boat was 
the Concordia, which they ran to Vicksburg. After dis- 
posing of her, they built consecutively within a few years, 
three boats named Magnolia. The last of the three was 
built without a passenger cabin, although she had accommoda- 
tions of an inferior character for a few passengers. This boat 
was strictly speaking a cotton boat and a great carrier. She 
was burned in the Yazoo River during the war, to prevent her 
falling into the enemy's hands. 

Subsequently Capt. Thomasson removed to St. Louis and 
took a position on the Great Republic, then the largest 
and finest boat that had ever been built, or has ever been built 
since with a few exceptions. He acted as a kind of cabin 
master on this boat and some others, but gradually retired 
from the river, the war having pretty nearly exhausted his 
resources and broke down his proud and genial spirit. 

He passed from this life at Niagara Falls, August 2d, 1880, 
at the age of 75 years, and was interred within the sound of 
that sublime cataract that had for thirty-five years annually 
attracted his romantic tastes to its borders, and where he al- 
ways expressed the hope his body might repose. 

The Niagara Gazette of that date closes a worthy tribute 
to his memory thus: " He was a pure and noble man, un- 
selfish and true, with a heart overflowing with kindness to all 
classes of people, loved and respected by all. Now that he 
has gone, sadness and sorrow will abide in many households." 

Capt. Thomasson was never married and left no known 
relatives or heirs. 

The late Capt. Shute and his daughter, who had been a life 
long friend and a partner, was with him when he passed the 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 619 

whirlpool for the last time, and contributed all that could be 
done to make the dark passage less gloomy. 

Capt. Thomasson was an eccentric man, but his genial tem- 
perament and social habits made him a favorite with the trav- 
eling public. 

In the spring and early summer, when the cotton season was 
over, before laying his boats up for the summer, it was cus- 
tomary for him to make two or three trips to Louisville, to ac- 
commodate the large passenger travel that always went North 
to spend the summer. 

His boat, with many others at that time, advertised in the 
papers several weeks in advance the date of their departure. 
Whenever the register of his boat was full, and no more pas- 
sengers could be accommodated with a stateroom, no more 
would be received on board. 

Unlike many others, he would refuse all applications when 
his rooms were full. 

The sumptuous fare that was provided, and the elegance 
with which it was served, enabled him to till his staterooms 
with the best class of passengers at a price that few other boats 
presumed to charge. 

Families, and ladies traveling by themselves, were a spe- 
cialty with him. 

He was known as a great ladies' man wherever he went, and 
he never seemed so happy as when he had a number of chil- 
dren hanging on to him, or was escorting a party of ladies. 

His uniform politeness and suavity in the presence of ladies 
made him a great favorite, and his generosity was proverbial 
wherever known. 

Capt. 8hute, who always acted as clerk, or agent, on Thom- 
asson's boats, was an exceedingly modest man, and if any 
credit was due to him for the good management and general 
policy on board, he never claimed it. 

Although it was very evident to friends that he was really 
the "power behind the throne" in the cabin. The first two 
boats they owned were contracted for and superintended by 
Capt. Shute. He died in New Orleans in 1886, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty years, respected by all who knew him. 

Thus, after contending with the turbid waters of the Mis- 
sissippi, and the dangers incident to its navigation for so 
many years, two of the prominent " beacon lights " of earl- 
ier 3^ears made their last '* crossing," and entered a haven 
where waters are lighted by the reflection of the noble deeds 
done while struggling with the reverses incident to the life of 
a boatman. 



620 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



I 




Captain Charles S. Eogers 



[Communicated.] 

Was born in New Hampshire, 1816 ; was left an orphan at 
the age of four years, under the guardianship of an uncle, with 
whom he lived until he was eight years old, when he was re- 
moved to Portland, Maine, where he lived with another uncle 
until 1832, w4ien he engaged in the dry goods business in the 
house of Hon. S. R. Lyman, where he remained until he ac- 
cepted Horace Greeley's advice, and removed to St. Louis in 
1838. 

His first experience on the river was in the capacity of a 
clerk in 1842. From that time to the present he has been 
continuously engaged either as clerk, captain, or president of 
companies owning and running boats on the Mississippi, Mis- 
souri, or Illinois Rivers. 

There are very few, if any, men engaged in steamboating at 
the present time that have been so long and so constantly en- 
gaged as has Capt. C. S. Rogers. He is the only surviving 
partner still in the business, that organized, and for more than 
forty years ran the Naples Packet Co.'s boats on the Illinois 
and other rivers. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 621 

In the forty two years the Naples Packet Company was in 
existence, it built, bought and operated of its own, twenty- 
three steamboats, beside numerous baro;es and wharf-boats. 

They were of varied capacity — some of them of the largest 
class — some very fine and fast, and others very light draft. 

They were built for different trades, and navigated nearly 
all the navigable waters of the Mississippi Valley. 

Of the ten original stockholders in that company, with one 
exception, Captain Rogers is the only survivor. 

His erect and robust form may always be seen during the 
Exchange hours, associating with the few remaining old land- 
marks that did business on the street before St. Louis had 
reached sufficient importance to require an Exchange. For 
one so long and constantly engaged in the arduous and ex- 
hausting duties of a river life, he is remarkably well preserved 
and there seems no good reason why he may not long survive 
the alloted time of " three score and ten." 

If the declining interests he has so long and faithfully rep- 
resented, or the reverses of fortune have failed to make him 
a millionare, it has not been from losses in wild speculations 
or neglect of duty, as all will testify who know him well. Ed. 

Captain Owen Finnegan. 

Mobile, Ala., April 22, 1889. 
ijaipt. E. W. Gould, St. Louis, 31o. : 

Dear Sir — In compliance with the promise to tell you 
something about myself and the steamboat interest of this 
port for publication in your forthcoming work on steam nav- 
igation I will commence with myself. 

I landed in Mobile in the year 1847, on the steamboat 
General Taylor, in the capacity of a watchman of the boat. 

During the 42 years I have been constantly engaged in that 
business and have owned and commanded a large number of 
boats. 

Among which I will name, Nyanza, R. E. Lee, John T. 
Moore, Maggie F. Burke, Lucy E. Gartrell, all of which, 
save the Maggie F. Burke have passed from view the way 
this kind of property generally goes. 

The Burke I am still running as a weekly packet to Selma 
and Montgomery. 

Capt. Jno. Quill and A. Newsmister own the Nettie Quill 
and the Carrier. 

The Mary Elizabeth I own, with my associates. These 
four constitute the Alabama River boats. 



622 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The T, L. Tally, Mattie B. Moore, Hard Cash, C. W. An- 
drews and the Ruth are all engaged on the Bigbee and Marion 
Rivers at the present time. 

In the ante bellum days, before the railroads invaded our 
territory, we had a large and profitable trade. 

In 1852 or 3 we had a chartered company known as Cox 
Brainard & Co., that did an immense business and conducted 
the trade on all these rivers that are tributary to this city. 
We have good navigable waters during the winter and spring, 
nearly to the head of navigation, which is some 700 miles. 

In 1857-8 the receipts of cotton in Mobile from these riv- 
ers amounted to 800,000 bales now it is but little over 
100,000 bales. 

Cox, Brainard & Co. owned many fine boats. Among those 
running to Montgomery I call to mind the Messenger, I. I. 
Cox, master ; Magnolia, W. F. Jones, master ; Cremonia, A. 
A. H. Johnston, master: Le Grand, G.W. Clondin, master; 
H. 1. King, Owen Finnegan, master; Empress, G. H. Kirk, 
master; St. Nicholas, C. W. Locklier, master; St. Charles 
Robt. Otis, master. 

These constituted a daily line, a part of which run as dis- 
patch boats and only carried passengers and the mails. 

Now two steamers a week is quite as many as we have 
business for. 

During the war we lost several boats, which were burned 
by the Northern army. 

At the surrender of Montgomery the Milner, the Cherokee, 
the Folly, the Iron King were all burned. 

The Henry J. King, a fine side-wheel boat, valued at 
$75,000, with a part of a load of cotton belonging to myself 
and others, and of which I was in command, was burned by 
the Wilson raiders in 1865. 

At the close of the war there was thousands of bales of 
cotton stored along the rivers, when it was selling in Mobile 
at 50 cents per lb., and as high as forty dollars per bale freight 
was paid in some cases to get it to market. But that was 
owing to low stage of water and a scarcity of boats. 

But from that time to the present the numerous railroads 
that have been constantly increasing have largely diverted 
our trade from the rivers and the business is no longer what 
it was as you will see by the foregoing brief account. 

Trusting you may meet with the success your worthy en- 
terprise merits, 

I remain yours truly, 

Owen Finnegan. 



BIOGKAPHICAL. 



623 




Capt. Henry A. Jones, Cincinnati. 



Neavton, Mass., Dec. 12, 1888. 
Capt. E. W. Gould, St. Louis, Mo.: 

Your favor of the 4th inst. was duly received. My earliest 
recollection of Capt. Henry A. Jones reaches back to the year 
1832. At that time he was engaged in the then popular busi- 
ness of flat-boating between Cincinnati and New Orleans. 
Capt. Jones was a " regular trader," i.e., he owned the boats 
and their cargoes, had no one interested with him, bought and 
paid for every article of merchandise, principally the produce 



624 Gould's history of river navigation. 

of the couiitiy, before he pushed his boat from the wharf ; 
was his own captain and supercargo. Having little faith 
in the banking institutions of that period, he never kept a 
*' bank account," but always carried his monej^ either in his 
pocket or in a belt buckled around his body. Born in Ver- 
mont in " 1808," but the family emigrated to the State of 
Ohio when the subject of this sketch was four years old. 
They settled in or near Zanesville. His father was a " mill- 
wright," but who died quite early in life. His mother 
married a second time, but Henry and two younger brothers 
never received much benefit from their step-father. Conse- 
quently they started out into the world early in life to care for 
and support themseh^es. The captain went to work near the 
salt works of their neighborhood at cuttino- cord-wood to be 

-I 

burned for making salt. For which he was paid 40 cents a 
cord for cutting, splitting and piling up. 

For one of his years he did very well, could earn $1.00 per 
day, but his board, $1.25 per week, was deducted. At the age 
of nineteen he went to Cleveland, worked as a common laborer 
during the season for out-door work, made himself useful in 
the way of building houses, carried the bricks and mortar, 
while others did the work. Was at all times ready to make 
himself useful, especially if there was a prospect of making 
fair wages. In 1828 the Louisville & Portland canal was 
nearly completed, ^.e., the excavation was about finished, but 
the bottom had to be smoothed off and the sides were to be 
paved. Capt. Jones got the job for paving two sections. He 
possesses the necessary articles for the work to be done, viz.: 
a willingness to work, a w^heelbarrow, a hammer and his own 
strong arm. 

The completion of the canal brings our friend to the time of 
life which made him a full citizen — the age of twenty-one. 
Though he had amassed a capital of six hundred dollars, he 
saw the necessity of adding more to it. And until something 
more desirable would offer, engaged as deckhand. There 
were no "roustabouts" in those days on steamboats in the 
New Orleans trade. This experience fitted him for the rugged 
life he was about to commence — that of a flat-boat or river 
trader on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. His first venture 
in this new line of life was in a "flat " 50 by 18 feet. Crew 
consisted of himself and one other man. Loaded with live 
sheep, flour, whisky, peach brandy, with some butter and 
cheese. With this craft full of produce, all paid for from 
his own earnings, he started from Cincinnati to New Orleans, 
unless fortune would enable him to dispose of his cargo at in- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 625 

termediate points, on both rivers and on the coast. 
Everything was sold before reaching Natchez. Returning he 
came on any good steamboat coming up the river. While he 
followed the life of " flat-boating" he always returned in the 
steerage as a deck passenger. He followed this mode of life 
for six years, was always successful, never having met with 
any serious accident or made a trip which caused pecuniary 
loss. In the year 1836 his career as commander and owner of 
steamboats began, and was so energetically and successfully fol- 
lowed until near the close of a useful and exemplary life, which 
sad event occurred in the month of March, 1884. His first 
steamboat was the Columbus. This was a vessel built at Rock- 
ville, a point on the Ohio River, in Ohio, a few miles below 
Portsmouth, in 1835, and bought by Capt. Jones in June, 
1836. This was one of those old-time, heavy New Orleans 
boats, such as were in use in those days. Length over all 181 
feet; beam, 26 feet; depth of hold, 9 feet 6 inches ; 6 42- 
inch boilers, 24 feet long; single engine. Could carry 400 
tons. Good runner, nice cabin, was a popular boat. 

Second boat, Ohio Belle, then Henry Clay, Queen City, 
2nd Ohio Belle, Europa, Hiram Powers, John Adams, Com- 
modore Perry, Charles Hammond, Judge Torrence, Nicholas 
Longworth, Niagara. The latter boat was put in the great 
Mississippi and Atlantic Steamship Company of St. Louis, 
valued at $120,000; this venture proving a total loss. Dur- 
ing and since the war he built and was interested in a large 
number of boats ; some were sold to the government for 
gunboats or transports. Three or four were put into 
and helped to form a line from Cincinnati to Memphis, of 
which line he was president for about six years. He was also 
for a long period an owner and president of the Champion 
Coal and Towboat Company, stockholder and director in sev- 
eral insurance companies, heavy holder of gas stock, director 
and owner of National Bank stock. Also heavily interested 
in real estate in Cincinnati and vicinity. With his fellowman 
he was an agreeable companion ; in conversation was most 
entertaining, with a faculty for holding a promplu audience 
(this is French), for hours at a time. It would usually re- 
quire all of a forenoon and until three or four p. m.of the 
same day in describing some of the interesting events of his 
long and useful life. In common conversation he was supe- 
rior to the large majority of mankind. All having the priv- 
ilege of a listener felt they were very well paid for any loss of 
time for such purpose. A full history of a trip to New Or- 
leans on a flat-boat would usually consume a full half day. 

40 



626 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Capt. Jones was most decidedly an agreeable gentleman to 
know, and to be his friend or be yours. I can recall but one 
lifelong friend now living. 1 refer to Captain Aaron S. 
Bowen. When Capt. Jones was engaged more than fifty 
years ago in buying a load of produce for his flatboats, Capt. 
Bowen was an active young man, clerk for one of Cincin- 
nati's early merchants, C. W. Gazzam. He dealt in all man- 
ner of produce, and Jones would often buy of him, more on 
account of his friend Bowen than any other. During the lat- 
ter period of his life they were very much together. They 
occupied the same office, in fact one desk was sufficient for 
both ; were members of the same church, would indulge 
in long buggy rides through town and country. In short, 
where one was the other was sure to be. 

We refer to Capt. Bowen for two reasons. First, because 
of long continued friendship between him and Captain Jones; 
second, on account of business matters in connection with 
steamboat affairs. Capt. Bowen was one of Cincinnati's 
earliest forwarding and commission merchants, doing business 
with Messrs. C. and J. Broadwell, also for many years steam- 
boat agent — with one exception the oldest in that line of bus- 
iness now living, I refer to Capt. Ira Athern, now in the 
nineties. 

Capt. Athern, as a steamboat agent does not reach back 
to as early a period as does Capt. Bowen, who for many years 
did business under the firm name of Bowen & Hibbard. 

Captain Jones married late in life an estimable widow lady, 
Mrs. Stephens, which brought to their happy household three 
most beautiful daughters; one, the youngest, is a resident of 
your city, St Louis. She is the beloved wife of Mr. Bevis. 
The remaining daughters, married, and reside in Cincinnati ; 
Mrs. Champlin and Mrs. McGregor. 

. I am very truly yours, 

J. H. Barker. 

The Three J. M. Whites. 

Answer to C or-respondent Y. A. — There were three steam- 
boats named J. M. White. 

The first of that name was built at Elizabethtown, Pa., and 
finished at Pittsburgh in 1842. Her dimensions: Length 250 
feet, beam 32 feet, depth 8 feet. She was named in honor of 
J. M. White, a prominent merchant of St. Louis. She only 
ran one season, when she sunk on the Grand Chain, Upper 
Mississippi. Her engines were 25-inch cylinder 8 feet stroke. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



627 




628 Gould's history of river navigatiox. 

The second J. M. White was built by dipt. J. W. Converse 
at Pittsbui'o-h in 1843. Her dimensions were : Length 250 
feet, 31 feet beam, 8V2 feet hold. Her cylinders were 30 
inches diameter, 10 feet stroke, with 7 boilers. 

She proved to be the most extraordinary steamboat of her 
day in the way of speed. She made the run from New Or- 
leans to St. Louis in 1844. Time — 3 days, 23 hours and 23 
minutes. This time was not beaten until 1870, 26 years 
afterward. This was done by the celebrated steamers R. E. 
Lee and Natchez. The Lee's time was 3 days, 18 hours and 
30 minutes. The Lee had two 40-inch cylinders diameter, 
12 feet stroke, with immense boiler power. When we con- 
sider the difference in power of engines and the disadvantages 
which the White encountered, hers was the most wonderful 
run of the age. She had to take her fuel wood from the 
banks of the river, which caused great loss of time, while the 
R. E. Lee had coal barges stationed at regular intervals which 
she took in tow, thereby saving a great amount of time. It 
is still a mooted question among old steamboat men as to 
whether the Lee really beat the White's time, if we allow 
the White her lost time in taking wood and screwing up her 
hemp packing. 

The third J. M. White was built at Louisville, Ky., in 1878, 
and is considered the most magnificent steamboat in the 
world. Her dimensions are: Length 325 feet, beam 50 feet, 
depth forward 17^ feet, midship 11^ feet, width over all 90 
feet, which is from the nosing on the outside of the wheel- 
house to that of the opposite side of the boat. Her carrying 
capacity is 8,500 bales of cotton. Her cylinders are 43 inches 
diameter, 11 feet stroke. The present White is thought to 
be the fastest steamboat that has ever navigated the Missis- 
sippi River, but she has never made a race against the time of 
other fast steamers, and, therefore, we cannot say positively 
that she is faster than other steamers which have made extraor- 
dinary time. 

The saloon of the main cabin is 260 feet iu length, 19 feet 
wide, and 16 feet in height. The state-rooms are all large, 
most of the rooms in the ladies' cabin being 10 feet by 14 
feet, and 12 feet by 14 feet. The smallest rooms in the main 
cabin are 8'by 10 feet, with a wide guard or passageway around 
the whole extent of the cabin. It is to befitted and furnished 
equal to if not superior to the finest hotels on the Continent. 
The upper cabin, the floor of which is 45 feet above the sur- 
face of the water, is 180 feet in length, and 28 feet wide; 
this too, with a guard all around it. This cabin, or texas, is 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



(529 




630 Gould's history of river navigation. 

to be furnished with the best of everything, and will be larger 
and finer than the main cabin of most of the boats now in 
commission. " Comparisons, however, are odious." The 
weight of machinery and boilers exceeds 260 tons, and the 
stem band weighs 2,700 pounds, the largest ever made. 
These dimensions may impart a fair conception of the im- 
mense boat, the cost of which will exceed $200,000. She had 

10 boilers 34 feet long, 42 inches diameter, 2 flues 16 inches 
diameter, water wheel 45 feet diameter, 19 feet bucket. 

The John W. Cannon, for the New Orleans and Bayou Sara 
trade, is at the lower wharf, having her cabin finished the 
most magnificently ever yet put upon a steamer. The machin- 
ery and connections are nearly completed, and the boat is to 
be ready on or about the 1st of May. She is having frescoed 
ceilings, and a most elaborate cabin; the staterooms, 10 by 

11 feet and 8 by 8 feet, all connected, and all with passage- 
ways on the outside. Captain Cannon is in ecstacies over the 
boat, pronouncing her the handiest and most rooray, with 
more deck-room, steam power and conveniences than any 
craft of her class yet built. The hull is 250 feet in length, 
with 43 feet beam, 9^ feet hold, heavily timbered, yet all 
model and sharp, knuckles rounded, and bound to be as fast 
as the fastest. She had 7 steel boilers, each 34 feet in length 
and 42 inches in diameter. Also, an extra boiler and extra 
engines. She also has four immense steam drums to retain 
full head of steam while making landings, as she runs by 
compass, the darkest nights or heavy fogs being no hindrance 
to her progress. 

Captain Cannon is.the veteran of the cotton trade, having 
more experience and having built more fine boats than any 
one else, this being the tenth boat built for him around the 
falls. The list of his ventures is as follows: The Louisiana 
in 1848, the S. W. Downs in 1852, the Bella Donna in 1853, 
the R. W. McRae in 1854, the Farmer in 1854, the Vicksburg 
in 1856, the Gov. Quitman in 1858, the first R. E, Lee in 
1866 and the present R. E. Lee in 1876: 

Since the above was in type the last J. M. White has been 
destroyed by fire in Morgan's Bend, La. 

The only record obtainable of this boat's fastest time is as 
follows: '* Left New Orleans at 5 o'clock p. m. on a regular 
business trip. Landed at Donaldsonville and Plaquemine and 
arrived at Baton Rouge twenty minutes before one the follow- 
ing morning, making the run in seven hours and forty min- 
utes. Her usual time to Harry Hillsgatewas fifty-six minutes. 
This is bv far the best time on record. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 631 



Captain James Good. 

Below I take the liberty of inserting a private letter of a 
valued cotemporary, which is so unique and philosophic and 
so unlike the character and the experience of the large ma- 
jority of my esteemed cotemporaries, that I am sure it will 
be appreciated by all who know the trials and the anxieties 
peculiar to the life of the master of river steamboats. 

It must indeed be a man with a " happy heart " who can 
encounter the perils of navigation incident to high and low 
water, to storms and dark nights, to collisions with steam- 
boats, snags, wrecks and railroad bridges, to explosions, sand 
bars and fires, to the liability of loss of life as well as the loss 
of money, to the'insane competition he is always subject to, to 
the unjust exactions of those into whose hands he often falls, 
to the trials incident to careless and incompetent officers and 
unreliable hands. 

One who has '* spent forty years around and on the river 
and whose life has been all sunshine, not a cloud to shadow its 
pleasures " has certainly enjoyed a phenomenal experience 
and one that will be envied by all cotemporaries and yet 
those that know Captain Good best, bear willing testimony to 
his assertions. 

Among many valued cotemporaries in the past, this writer 
calls to mind but two, and they have long since crossed to the 
shining river, and furled sail in less tempestuous waters, who 
resembled in character and disposition the subject of these 
remarks. 

Captains Mortimer Kennett and Burton Able were philoso- 
phic steamboat masters, as well as good boatmen. The 
former was also master of the violin. No naviijation was too 
difficult or night to dark to induce him to decline the very 
pleasant duty of entertaining his passengers with the sweet 
strains of his violin. 

Even when crossing the lower rapids of the Mississippi, 
where steamboatmen in the earlier times did more hard work 
in low water than on any other river in the Mississippi Valley, 
having their entire cargoes to lighten across the rapids in flat 
boats, Captain Kennett never allowed himself to be disturbed, 
or to interfere with the duties of his mate or his pilot. There 
was often great strife and rivalry among the large number of 
boats accumulated at the foot and the head of the rapids to 
see which should get across and get away first. But the 
captain's philosophy was generally a good stand off for the 



632 Gould's history of river navigation. 

extra exertions of all others, and either that or his violin made 
him the envy of his cotemporaries, of which this writer was 
one. Captain Able, while not a musician, was a good politician 
and no circumstances were every so embarassing or trying 
that he could not find time and opportunity to entertain his 
passengers and even his crew with a good story or a political 
speech, and none enjoyed a hearty laugh and a good joke better 
than Capt. Able. 

There is no capital or stock in trade so valuable to the 
master of a steamboat as a " happy heart " and a well balanced 
head. None others should embark in an occupation so liable 
to contlicts and disappointment. 

Captain Good says " Success means money." While he 
claims to have secured none of that, it is evident his success has 
far surpassed that of many of his cotemporaries, as the duties 
of his calling have always afforded him pleasure, however 
laborious, and he is made happy by the reflection that " ease 
and comfort will come when I go to that shining river 
beyond." 

Office of ^ 

St. Louis & Miss. Valley Trans. Co., > 
St. Louis, May 22, 1889. ) 

Capl. E. W. Gould: 

"Dear Captain — I am at a loss to communicate any event 
of my life that would aid your work, or add to my posterity 
any reading matter that they might be proud of. Success in 
life means mone}'. I have labored a lifetime for others, I 
have nothing to show that would indicate success, except a 
happy heart and a large family. M}'' " happy heart " tells 
me that I have labored honestly, and all to my employers' 
interest. I was 60 years old 9th inst. My life spent around 
and on the river, has been all sunshine. Not a cloud to shadow 
its pleasures. I am yet in the harness, a wheel-horse, next 
the rider, and I receive many a lash that quiets pride and high 
temper, and I pull with the rest of the team, awaiting another 
lashing at the top of the hill. I am up on the level now, and 
I feel my heart beating hard, full of good blood, and veins 
standing out. Captain, I can boast on this theme only, and 
if I can get a good square master that will give enough from 
his lucre to secure me a good stall and provender, I will stand 
up and fill the place I now hold for ten years yet. Ease and 
comfort will come when I go to that shining river beyond. 

Your friend and well wisher, 

James Good." 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



633 




Captain Willi aim Dean of Pittsburgh. 



In a communication from St. Paul dated February, 1889, 
which is hereto appended, the Captain has related some of his 
experiences in early navigation which will undoubtedly be 
read with interest by many of his old associates who re- 
member his urbane and gentlemanly manner as captain and 
pilot of many of the earlier boats on the Ohio. 

It will be recollected that he was among the few masters of 
steamboats that were so conscientious they would not run a 
steamboat on Sunda}^ 

He relates some incidents to prove that he made money by 



634 Gould's history of river navigation. 

layinor up when Sunday came. But it is not charitable to 
suppose he clone it for that purpose. 

In 1837, the Captain says there were three opposition lines 
of steamboats between Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Louisville. 

" The Eed Line, the Blue Line and an outside line, without 
a name. Then a pilot line was formed to break up all the 
other lines and monopolize the river. Out of nearly 100 
pilots they were offered hi^h wages not to work on the other 
lines." 

'* Your biographer did not bite at the ofter and received 
$300 a month in the employment of the Red Line. I took 
stock, and gave my note, and never worked a day in the line. 

It was not long before dishonest men were found managing 
the line. They took the money, kept the notes, and the line 
went to the devil." 

But we will hear the Captain tell his experience. 

St. Paul, Feb. 4th, 1889. 
Dear Captain Gould: 

Your biographer is attempting to talk a little to you in 
painful affliction. A native of Ohio. Born in New Lisbon 
in 1811. It was an exciting year in our country. Rumor of 
war with Great Britain and the earthquake at New Madrid 
which shook the solid earth for more than one thousand miles 
around. 

My parents moved to the Ohio River or in sight. I was left 
to be bound to a merchant in New Lisbon ; did not like the 
idea, a friend came up from my father's; I said, I would go 
home with you. 

My first sight of the river was from 1823 to 1826 ; can't re- 
call the date. I was greatly attracted at the sight. At this 
time only five steamers on the river — names to wit: Pennsyl- 
vania, Messenger. Bolivar, Mechanic and Velocipede. 

Charley Basham was clerk of Velocipede. After years the 
great steamboat agent Captain Billy Forsyth said he was the 
best he ever had, never promised any business or gave any. 

The state of morals was low at this time. Simon Girty, the 
half Indian desperado and terror to the community, had passed 
away. The run above the city emptying into the Monongahela 
River, was called Girty' s run. He had his headquarters up the 
run north of the city, where he held carnival with the Indian 
savages and Avith devils. After he passed away another type 
of man — Mike Fink and Mike Wolf, of the keel-boatmen. 

At this time no system of transit was inaugurated from 
Pittsburgh to ports below. The keel-boat, propelled by man, 



BIOGKASHICAL. 635 

WHS a model one, 80 to 90 feet long, open hold, with cargo 
box and running boards, or guards cluted, for to put the foot 
against with his 12 foot pole. Iron socket at end, and large 
wood button at top and large sweeps on deck to propel it. 

It was a slow system for transit. The time from Phila- 
delphia to Pittsburgh was three weeks with large six horse 
road wagon, time from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Ohio, was 
three weeks by keel-boat. That was slow transit. Nowtheage 
of keel-boating Mike Fink, a type for vulgarity and profanity. 

I must not fail to mention the keel-boat propulsion by man- 
power was 15 miles per day up stream, and down was paddled 
about 1^ miles through the water per hour. The accommo- 
dation was not of the best. If boat was loaded with pig 
metal that Avas the only bed — unless a board could be found — 
the living was not likely to give the gout — a wet hard tack or 
pilot bread, side bacon, lull of creepers often, and potatoes, 
rice, coffee without sugar. Slow transit indeed. Now I 
drop the keel-boat. 

The outfit of a keel-boat was not complete without a barrel 
of whisky on deck. 

This was the mode, until the great Pennsylvania canal was 
built ; cost the State fifty millions. The canal commissioners' 
salary twenty thousand dollars yearly. Now the canal rushed 
the goods into Pittsburgh, the commission merchant urging 
to get goods to Cincinnati and Louisville. The keel-boat 
would not answer any longer ; the rivermen planning ways 
and means. Finally it was decided to build light boats, stern 
wheel, to have capacity for 60 tons and go safe on two foot 
water. Now this was the beginning of light stern-wheel boats, 
and answered the purpose for a series of years. It was 
Bchooiing a grand lot of rivermen for after use. 

Ways and means was employed by the boatmen. Finally 
light water stern wheel-boats were decided would answer. It 
was not long until the river was pretty well supplied. 

This system answered for a series of years. But the cry 
was give us, an outlet by railroads. The Pittsburgh, Fort 
Wayne & Chicago was built. Stock was $50 par, went to 
|3 per share. I must tell of railroad speculation of mine. A 
friend came and said there is to be a road built to Connells- 
ville, then to branch out into Virginia to the main B. & O. 
road. Like Col. Seller's mighty dollar, there is millions in it. 
Well, I bit at the bait and put my name down for 10 shares, 
paid in at time of subscription $12 per share. 

The road appeared to drop out of sight in a year or two. 
I called at the Treasurer's office and inquired about my rail- 



636 Gould's history of river navigation. 

road to Connellsville, and the money paid. He said, your 
money is all eat up in oyster suppers ; don't know anything 
about it at present. Well, in after years I had my steamer loaded 
for St. Louis, and ready to leave port. Law oflScers come 
and said there is a judgment against you and execution issued ; 
it must be satisfied now. How much is the amount. About 
$600. But giving credit for $12 per share reduced it. I paid 
the judgment off and never knew more about it. Repudiated 
the whole matter. Never went into railroading again. 

The light water stern-wheel boats answered until the 
PennsylvaniaRailroad was completed and finished toPittsburgh. 

And now dawned the great steamboating on the Ohio 
River. The commission merchant wanted more rapid transit. 

Your biographer had charge of the finest one of 23. The 
owners said, can you make weekly trips from Pittsburgh to 
Cincinnati and return in a week. I will try. Started and 
made 12 consecutive trips. It was hard boating, l)ut was 
found possible. The owners said we will build you a fast 
boat; but I preferred to be so I could go where and when I 
pleased. Now was formed the grandest packet line of steam- 
ers in the world. We are now up in 1841 and had full control 
of river near 10 years, accommodating the Pennsylvania canal. 

Pennsylvania Railroad now finished to Pittsburgh. Cry was 
give us, outlet by railroads. The P. F. W. & C. was pus-hed 
to completion, and Panhandle Railroad was being built 
bee line to Cincinnati. We had at this time nearly three- 
quarters of hundred fine steamers running out of port of 
Pittsburgh to every port or place below. (In 1888 only 
three stern-wheel boats between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.) 

And the grandest army of pilots and captains the world ever 
seen. Four Dean brothers, all pilots and captains. And 
now the Ohio River, with its grand packet line, and other 
transports. May state piloting was reduced to perfection for 
700 miles — now Ichabod may be written, the glory depiuted. 

Railroad on the bank of the Ohio River on both sides from 
Pittsburgh to Louisville. Three weeks to Cincinnati, and now 
10 hours. Rapid transit. 

Now your biographer is done, and you must accept all E. 
and O. I think I am the oldest living of that grand army of 
pilots and captains. In my 78th year and in suffering. 
Waiting for the time to hear the Master say, come up higher. 
As I live ye shall live also. Blessed hope. 

I have written in great pain. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Wm. Dkan, 
Pilot and Captain, for more than 30 years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 637 

The following supplemental notice is communicated by a 
friend : — 

Captain Wm. Dean first came to Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1823, 
engaged in river pursuits, and became captain of the Wheeling 
packet Massillon in 1834. 

Was captain of the Hunter, running to Cincinnati and 
Louisville in 1836; married to Miss Aurelia Butler in 1837. 

Took command of the new steamer Boston in 1 839 ; sunk 
her at Devil's Island, Mississippi River, in the winter of 1841. 

The following spring, was captain and part owner of the 
single engine steamer Alleghany (this boat and the Lehigh 
were the pioneers in the Pittsburgh & Cincinnati Packet Line, 
making weekly trips); sold out to the late Capt. R. C. 
Gray in 1846. 

Purchased an interest and was captain of the double engine 
steamer Brunette in the fall of 1846. 

About this time contracted for and built the North River, 
with the idea of making ten day trips to Louisville. Sold out 
to Alex. Dean in 1848'. 

Built the stern wheel, open hold, light water boat called the 
Columbia, in 1849; had no cabin accommodations for passen- 
gers; sold to Thomas Greenlee in 1850, and the same year 
built the stern-wheel passenger steamer, of about 300 tons 
capacity, called the Navigator. 

Built the Clara Dean, freight boat to run to Louisville, in 
1853. 

In the summer of 1854, built the light draft freight and 
passenger packet Louisville, for Alexander Dean. This boat 
had a phenomenally successful career. Built the steamer 
Saint Louis for Jesse Dean in 1855. This year sold interest 
in steamer Clara Dean to Sampson Cadmann. 

In 1856 superintended and completed the following boats; 
Towboat, Tempest ; packets. Rocket, Cambridge, Moderator, 
and Sam P. Hibberd. 

In the interval up to the spring of 1859, was employed in 
piloting on the Upper Ohio. At that time was appointed 
general agent of the newly organized Alleghany Insurance 
Co., to take charge of the marine interests. 

In 1861 bought the Bay Cty, and out of it built the second 
Navigator. Built the Camelia in 1862, America in 1863, Col- 
umbia in 1864, and Messenger in 1865. 

Resigned the general agency of the Alleghany Insurance 
Co. in 1884, and became a member of the Fire and Marine 
Agency of Geo, W. Dean & Co. 



638 



GOULD S HISTORY OF KIVER NAVIGATION. 



Captain James Ho\v'akd — His Funeral Yesterday a Scene 
OF Unusual Grief — Three Cities Participating — Re- 
mains Conveyed From flEFFERSONviLLE to Cave Hill, 
Attended by a Great Cortege — Life of the Deceased. 




Captain James Howard. 

[Courier-Jonrnal, 187 6.] 

The funeral of the late Capt. James Howard took place yes- 
terday, and such a sadly impressive and imposing scene was 
never witnessed in this city. The three cities of the Falls 
shared alike in the sorrow, and were largely represented at 
the funeral. Upwards of 50,000 people took part in and wit- 
nessed the cortege as it passed up First street from the river. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 639 

The hour set for the funeral to take place was 12:30, but long 
before that time had come men, women and children were 
wending their way towards his residence in Jeflersonville. 
The three ferryboats from this side of the river were crowded 
with pedestrians and vehicles. The people went from this city, 
New Albany, and Jeffersonville. The steamers B. H. Cooke 
and Fawn, of the Henderson Packet Line, left the city wharf 
and carried people up to his residence and brought them back 
after the ceremonies at the house were over. The trains, too, 
from this city and New Albany carried crowds to the scene. 
Standino' in laraje crowds in the neio-hborhood of the house 
were the workmen in his employ and those of Mr. D. S. Bar- 
more and the employes of the car works. Business was en- 
tirely suspended in Jeffersonville, and the citizens, old and 
young, turned out to pay their last tribute of respect to the 
memory of a man whom they honored, loved and respected. 
All the steamers of our wharf and Jeffersonville had their 
colors half-mast and tolled their bells. Flags were at half- 
mast upon the public buildings in the three cities, and many 
business houses and private dwellings were draped in mourn- 
ing, as was also the ship-yard of Mr. D. S. Barmore, brother- 
in-law of the deceased. A solemn silence seemed to pervade 
the whole face of nature. Upon the countenances of the 
masses could be seen the shadows of grief, and many a tear 
dimmed the eye, and sighs came from the lips of the multitude 
when they thought of the mission they had come to perform. 
Men of all ages, rank and vocation were there. The rich and 
poor met alike to share in each other's sorrows over the irre- 
parable loss they had so suddenly sustained. 

The services over, the procession was formed, and a quarter 
past 1 o'clock it moved its slow length along toward the ferry 
landing. The three first carriages contained the pall-bearers, 
were as follows : Capt. Frank Carter, Capt. Z. M. Sherley, 
Capt. W. C. Hite, Capt. A. H. Dugan, Capt. R. H. Woolfolk, 
Mr. W. R. Eay, Mr. Geo. Ainslie, of Louisville; Capt. 
Adams, Mr. W. H. Buckley, Mr. Daniel Anciskus, Mr. W. 
H. Fogg, Mr. W. H. Horr and Col. Jas. Keigwin, of Jeffer- 
sonville. Following these was the hearse containing the re- 
mains, which were in a casket mounted in silver, and upon 
the top of which were laid two beautiful anchors and a cross 
made of the choicest flowers. Then followed the carriages, 
buggies, omnibuses, men on horseback and footmen. The 
working men of the ship-yards — Howard's and Barmore's — 
together with those of the Ohio Falls Car Works and other 
establishments of Jeffersonville, walked upon each side of the 



640 Gould's history of river navigation. 

procession until they reached tlie ferry docks. The proces- 
sion moved down Old Market street to Fulton to Chestnut, 
down Chestnut and thence to the docks, where the ferry- 
boats Sherley ond Shallcross, lashed together, lay waiting to 
convey the funeral train across the river to this side. While 
the procession was moving from the house down Chestnut the 
children of St. Augustine church joined it, and proceeded with 
it to the ferry dock. The procession was marshaled by 
Colonel Jas. Keigwin. When the two ferry-boats were full of 
people and carriages they pushed away from the dock and 
steamed down the river, and the dark drapery, the tolling of 
the bells, the hearse, the sad faces of all on board, made it 
indeed a solemn picture. The two boats were unable to carry 
all, so the third ferry boat, Wathen, went back to Jefferson- 
ville and brought over to this side the remainder of the pro- 
cession and people. The Sherley and Shallcross landed at the 
foot of First street, and the procession marched up the hill, 
followed by those who came over upon the Wathen, and who 
joined it upon this side of the river. 

Ever since the unfortunate accident on Saturday a number 
of men have been dragging the bottom of the river to recover 
the horse and buggy which were lost when the deceased was 
drowned. Yesterday when the lashed steamers reached a spot 
in the river near where the accident occurred the horse and 
buggy were recovered and brought to shore, near where the 
body was found. 

Capt. James Howard was born within a stone's throw of 
the city of Manchester, England, December 1, 1814. His 
father emigrated to this country with his family in 1820, and 
settled in Cincinnati. Being a wool-carder and cloth-dresser, 
he engaged in the business in the latter city, and James worked 
with him in a small mill from the time he was eleven years of 
age until he was tifteen. He was then apprenticed to a steam- 
boat builder, named William Hartshorn, who now lives in 
Cincinnati to serve his time at the trade until he was twenty- 
one years of age. In the year 1835 he commenced life and 
business without a dollar in the world, but being a good me- 
chanic — a man of remarkable energy and ability — he soon 
overcame all obstacles in his way and worked himself up until 
he became the most famous steamboat builder in the United 
States With the exception of a few years he spent on the 
river as an engineer he has uninterruptedly engaged in boat 
building until the day of his lamentable and sudden death. 
In 1837 he went to Madison, Ind., and built sixteen boats. 
In 1844 he returned to Jeffersonville, Ind., where he had re- 
mained ever since. The business of boat-building grew to be 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 641 

of such vast extent diiiinoj the hitter days of his life that he 
associated with him in the l)iiiklino: of boats liis younger 
brother, John, and his (James) son, Edward. The firm then 
became James Howard & Co., or, as they were as familiarly 
known, the Howard Brothers. Before he took his brother and 
son into business, he alone built about fifty steamboats. He 
and the firm together have built about two hundred and fifty 
boats, among which may be mentioned the Robert Fulton, 
Tecumseh, Capitol, James Howard, Ruth, and last but not 
least, the new or last Robert E. Lee — she being the best and 
most beautiful of all they ever built. The Howards have 
built boats of all sizes and classes, and for nearly every river 
in the South and West, and no man's reputation outranked 
that of "Uncle Jim's " for a steamboat builder. 

His family consisted of a wife, three daughters and one son, 
all married. He had three brothers, Daniel, John and Thomas. 
All were present yesterday at the funeral, save one married 
daughter, who recently went to California. 

James Howard was a man of medium height and g-ood figure. 
His head was large and long, with a high broad forehead, and 
all the other features prominent and expressive. In his man- 
ners he was unassuming, and cordial to all persons. He was 
strong in purpose and action. The whole energy of an active, 
comprehensive mind and of an almost tireless physical or- 
ganization was given to whatever scheme or duty he ever had 
in view. His battle in life has been no easy one, but he stood 
true throughout to the principles of honor and integrity, and, 
having an industry and mechanical knowledge which he has 
suffered no man in his occupation to excel, he gained both 
success and distinction. An affectionate and loving wife has 
lost a noble husband ; children are now fatherless ; brothers 
are brotheiiess. The poor have lost a friend and the me- 
chanic a benefactor. 

He has launched his last boat and got in it alone, 

And sailed to that beautiful clime, 
Where angels are waiting to welcome him home, 

On the banks of the river of Time, 
He will land by himself in Eternity's port. 

Then pull the boat out on the shore, 
And quietly walk through the beautiful Gates, 

And never come back any more. 

We trust that some angel will show him the way. 

That leads to the great throne of Grace 
Where God, in his mercy, will give him a seat 

And smile on his time-wrinkled face. 
If ever a man was true, honest and kind, 

We think it was old " Uncle Jim," 
And if God has a home and a crown for good men, 

He will certainly give them to him. 



642 Gould's history of river navigation. 




EwD. F. Howard. 

The subject of the sketch and the accompanying portrait is 
the only representative of the world renowned and popular 
boat yard known for the last half century as " Howard's Boat 
Yard," at Jeffersonville, Ind. 

He is the son' and former partner of the late James Howard, 
whose lonoj and successful career as the " orreat boat builder 
of the Mississippi Valley," made his name familiar to all, and 
honored by all who knew him. 

To say the mantle has fallen from a worthy sire upon the 
shoulders of a devoted and worthy son is recognized by all 
who have had the pleasure of knowing him. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 643 

His long association in the yard as draughtsman, foreman, 
and partner has made his name as familiar with the numer- 
ous patrons of the Howard Brothers as was those of the former 
partners and his long and well known skill as an expert 
draughtsman is a sufficient guarantee to all that want fine 
boats. 

The honesty and integrity that has so long characterized 
all transactions of the " Howards" is still a prominent feature 
under the present management. 

Up to the present time, January 1st, 1889, there has been 
built at this yard by the Messrs. Howard, 460 boats of all 
kinds, principally steamboats, commencing with the side wheel- 
boat in 1834, Hesperion. 

To attempt an enumeration even of the larger and finer 
boats of this immense fleet would transcend the limits of this 
sketch. 

The history and national reputation of such boats as the 
two Ruths, the James Howard, the Robt. E. Lee, the John 
Cannon, the J. M. White and the large number of Anchor 
Line boats is sufficient to establish the skill and the genius 
of this, the largest steamboat yard in the world, so far as the 
number of boats is concerned. 

Mr. Howard is a young man in vigorous health, born in 
18 — , with perhaps the best location on the Ohio River for 
a boat yard, with all the modern improvements in boat build- 
ing, launching, etc., with an ample force of the best me- 
chanics to perform all contracts at shortest notice. 



Captain Satmuel Rider. 

The following obituary notice appeared in a St. Louis paper 
soon after his decease, written by one who knew and appre- 
ciated him : — 

In the death of this well-known and pure-minded gentle- 
man the community will generally recognize how great the 
loss to those who knew him intimately, and especially to his 
own family circle. 

In an experience of forty years of active life on Western 
and Southern rivers, occupying the prominent position of 
master of some of the finest boats navigating them, probably 
there is no position of civil life better calculated to develop a 
man's true character, or to aff'ord the public a better oppor- 
tunity to judge of it. 

Capt. Rider commenced his career as a boatman in 1844, 



644 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



agreeable to my recollection, and continued it uninterruptedly 
until 1878. From that time until his death (August 19, 
1881) he was an invalid, though not confined to his house but 
a few days before his death. The disease of which he died 
(cancer) developed early and made slow but sure progress, 
indicating to him and his friends the certainty of the result in 
the near future. But for one who had so often stood at his 
post on the hurricane deck of a steamer in the terrific storms 
to which boats are subject in navigating the waters of the 




Captain Samuel Rider. 

West from the BaHze to the Upper Missouri, and amidst the 
iron hail from masked batteries and the deadly aim of sharp- 
shooters for hundreds of miles along the Lower Mississippi 
and its tributaries, during the late war, saying nothing about 
the frequent contacts he had been subject to during seasons 
of malignant epidemic, cholera and yellow fever, the ap- 
proaching enemy had no terrors. He had often seen his near 
approach before, but never shrank from duty to avoid him. 
% He desired to live for the benefit of his family and friends, 
and when he realized he could no longer serve them, the at- 
tractions on the other side of the dark river were sufficient to 
overcome all the embarrassment he had ever felt in launching 
his frail bark upon that dark but peaceful stream. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 645 

In our intimate business relationship of more tlian thirty- 
years I never knew Capt. Rider to so far forget himself as to 
speak an unkind or a profane word. He was proverbially 
kind and generous to a fault, as will be testified to by thou- 
sands who have known him under all circumstances and in 
many of the most trying positions. Of his honesty none 
ever doubted wlio knew him. 

To one so generally known as Capt. Rider was, it is hardly 
necessary to refer in detail to the numerous positions he has 
filled during his river life. 

I will, however, as a matter of record, report the recollec- 
tions of some of his old friends, who may feel an interest 
in reviewing earlier associations, by recalling the name of 
such boats as occur to me which were built or navigated by him. 

His first steamboat was the Timolian, built and navi- 
gated by himself on the Illinois River. The second was the 
Prairie State, built by him at the same place and for the same 
trade. Both of these were good boats, well adapted for th# 
trade for which they were designed, and established unmistak- 
ably the genius and the enterprise of the builder. 

After disposing of these boats, he became associated with 
the St. Louis and Naples Packet Company, in which company 
he was still a highly esteemed member at the time of his 
death. 

During his association with this company he was in command 
of the following named boats, together with several others, the 
names of which are not recollected, viz. : — 

Niagara, Brunette, Time and Tide, Persia, Messenger, 
Cataract, Belle Gould, Adriatic, John B. Carson, Post Boy, 
James E. Woodruff, Fannie Lewis, Clara, Walter B. Dance, 
Alice, Time and Tide No. 2, Wm. J. Lewis, Post Boy No. 2, 
Marcella, Imperial, Belle of Pike, Empress, Mountaineer, 
Fannie Lewis, Joe Kinney, Calhoun, Mary Boyd, and Lady 
Lee. 

In recalling the names of these boats, pleasant recollections 
will recur to thousands of passengers and to subordinate 
officers who have enjoyed the courtesy and kindness of their 
genial commander, whose memory will live fresh in their 
recollections among the pleasant things of life. 

The Captain was raised at Truro, on the bleak shores of 
Massachusetts Bay, and it was there he received his first 
lessons in nautical life from his father, who for many years 
was known as one of the most successful commanders of sail- 
ing vessels out of New England ports to all parts of the com- 
mercial world. 



646 Gould's history or river navigation. ^ 

While but a mere stripling of a boy the subject of this im- 
perfect sketch spent his leisure hours in building and sailing 
small water-craft on the waters of the bay, and not unfre- 
quently ventured faroutto sea intishing smacks and 
coasting vessels of which he was made master in 
command. His enterprise and ambition soon turned 
his mind to the then "far West," and, in company 
with a few friends, he started to seek a fortune in the 
great Mississippi Valley. After a short residence in 
Michiofan and Iowa he located in St. Louis, where he remained 
but a few years and took up a prominent residence at Griggs- 
ville, Illinois, where he married and continued to live (when 
at home) in the enjoyment of a fondly-cherished family, which 
seemed to be the pride and only object for which he lived. 
He left a family of four daughters and one son, all comfort- 
ably provided for, and this thought seemed to give him great 
consolation during his last hours of consciousness. It was in 
the domestic relations of life that his kindness and genial 
temperament were best illustrated, and none but those who 
enjoyed the privilege of that acquaintance can fully appreciate 
the loss. He passed away at the age of sixty-six years. Born 
October 31, 1814. 



E. W. G. 



St. Louis, August 24, 1881. 



Commodore W. J. Kountz 

was born in Columbinna Count}", Ohio, fifty miles below 
Pittsburgh, on the Ohio Kiver, in 1817. He commenced his 
river career in 1827, on a keel-boat, owned and commanded 
by his brother Hiram. He worked as a subordinate until Oc- 
tober, 1832, when he was appointed captain of the keel-boat 
Townsman. He continued to hold the positions of captain 
and pilot of keel-boats till the fall of 1833, when he engaged 
in business in Wellsville, Ohio. He soon tired of business 
ashore, and in the spring of 1834, he engaged on coal boats 
with Zachary Reno and made a trip, as linesman, to New Or- 
leans. He met an old acquaintance there, and joined him in a 
trip up the Yazoo River to cut and raft cypress lumber, for 
the New Orleans market. After arriving at the head of the 
Yazoo, he campecl out, where he contracted the prevailing 
diseases of that country, chills and fever, and being dissatisfied 
with such experiences, he left this wilderness for Louisville, 
where he engaged as an apprentice on a steamboat to learn en- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



647 



gineering. When he had mastered this trade he was not 
satisfied, but in the spring of 1835 he engaged with Johnson 
Marsh, who was captain of the Patrick Henry, to steer his 
watch and learn the river as pilot. In 1836 he engaged with 
Captain Robert Peer to pilot on one of the boats that he con- 
trolled, and, accordingly, was placed on the steamboat Ara- 




COMMODORE W. J. KOUNTZ. 

bian, with Captain Wni. Forsythe. He made one trip from 
Pittsburgh to Louisville, the boat being destined for St. Louis, 
and then returned to Pittsburgh, where he took command of 
the steamer Huntress, and ran her that season from Pitts- 
burgh to Louisville. In 1837 he ran the Huntress from St. 



648 Gould's history of river navigatiox. 

Louis to Galena and Dubuque, which was then the outside of 
civilization. He gave up the command of the Huntress in the 
fall of 1837, and assumed the business of piloting. In the 
summer of 1838, he piloted three keel-boats from Pittsburgh 
to Louisville, owned by Wm. Vandegrift, and returned home 
by stage. In December, 1838, he married a daughter of David 
McKelvy, of Alleghany town, now city. In the spring of 
1839, he again shipped as pilot of the steamer Troy,^Captain 
Jas. Adams, and having made one trip to the Wabash River 
and return, he then shipped on the steamer Czar, Captain Wm. 
Hale. After piloting on [various boats until 1842, he took 
command of the steamer Galant and ran her from Pittsburgh 
to Cincinnati, weekly trips, this being the first packet ever in 
the trade. He quit the river in 1843 and embarked in the 
grocery business in Alleghany, at which he remained for 
about 16 months. In 1844 he returned to the river as pilot 
with Captain John Vandegrift, on the steamer Pinta. He 
bought one-half of this boat from Clark & Thaw, but sold out 
in the spring of 1845, and took a position as pilot of the 
steamer Fulton, employing C. W. Batchellor as an apprentice. 
The same season he piloted the Prairie Bird, Captain John 
Vandergrift, with Batchellor accompanying him. He quit the 
Prairie Bird to take command of the steamer Pilot, the first 
boat he built. He advised Captain Vandergrift to place 
Batchellor as pilot of the Prairie Bird, which he did. He 
commanded the Pilot till the summer of 1846, when he bought 
the Financier and took command of her. In December, 1846, 
he bought the New England and took command of her, which 
boat was selected as the flag vessel of the first fleet ot boats 
that took troops from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, en route 
to Mexico, General Wynkoop being first and Col. Sam Black, 
second in command. He commanded the New England during 
the winter and spring of 1847. During the 3^ear of 1847, he 
built the Yankee, bought the Wyoming and Mt. Vernon, and 
in turn commanded all of them. In 1849, he built the Aaron 
Hart and commanded her during the season of 1849, when 
she burned in New Orleans in October. He took command of 
the steamer Cincinnati in the spring of 1850. He built and 
took command of the steamer Luella No. 1, in this same year. 
He lost his wife in 1851 and afterwards married Miss Peninah 
Weaver. He took command of the Pittsburgh in November, 
1851, and contracted for the Crystal Palace in 1852, and took 
command of her April, 1853. She was the finest steamboat 
that ever floated on the Western waters. He remained in 
command of her until 1856, when she was laid up at Pitts- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 649 

burgh to be dismantled. In 1856 he contracted for the 
famous steamer, City of Memphis, using the cabin and ma- 
chinery of the Crystal Palace. It was the largest boat built 
up to that date. He left Pittsburgh on April 14, 1857, and 
commanded her with great success until 1858, when he was 
appointed freight agent of the Illinois Central Railroad at 
New Orleans, which position he held for one year. He then 
reassumed command of the City of Memphis, where he re- 
mained until the commencement of the war. The newspaper 
which was published daily on this boat was edited by Jas. 
Kerr, Jr., who was chief clerk on the City of Memphis. Every 
passenger found on his plate on the breakfast table this 
newspaper containing the bill of fare, with the events of the 
past twenty-four hours. He left New Orleans on the day that 
Fort Sumter was surrendered and arrived at Cairo, where the 
crew were paid off. The City of Memphis was laid up at 
Mound City, and he and his family went to Alleghany, their 
home. He then went to Cincinnati, where Gen. Geo. B. Mc- 
Clelland was in command of the troops of the State of Ohio, 
and volunteered his services without compensation to take 
charge of the river transportation. His services were accepted 
by McClellan, and at that time he received his title of Com- 
modore. During the time he was in the service he purchased 
all the steamboats that were converted into gunboats, and also 
many other boats for transports, and occupied that position 
until the fall of 1861, when by order of Gen. McClellan, he 
was sent to St. Louis to take charge of river transportation 
there, and was ordered from there to Cairo, and from Cairo to 
Paducah. He resigned his commission, Avhich was accepted 
April 1, 1862. He then took command of the City of Memphis 
until he sold her to John Bofinger and others in the fall of 
1862. 

This ended his active service as steamboat captain. 

He them bought the Eanny Bullett and Prairie Rose, and 
had then run in the government service. In 1863 he engaged 
in the banking business at Pittsburgh, the firm name being 
Kountz & Martz. In 1863 he built the steamer Carrie and in 
1864 built the Katie. In 1865 built Luella No. 2 and bought 
the Nevada and Steven Bayard. In 1866 he bought the Urilda 
and Alleghany Belle No. 4. In 1864 retired from the banking 
business. In 1866 built the W. H. Osborn. In 1867 built 
Ida Stockdale and bought the Leni Leoti. In 1868 built the 
Peninah No. 1 and the Andrew Ackley. In 1869 built the 
Carrie V. Kountz, which burned on her first trip at St. Louis. 
Built Carrie V. Kountz No. 2 the same year. In 1870 built 



650 Gould's history of river navigation. 

the MoUie Moore, Henry C. Yeager and rebuilt the Foii- 
tenell; 1871 built the John F. ToUe, May Lowry and Katie 
P. Kountz. In 1875 built the C. W. Meade. In 1879 built 
the Peniuah No. 2 and the E. O. Stanard. In 1877 built the 
General Custer. In 1878 built the J. B. M. Kehlor, General 
D. H. Rucker, General Tompkins and John D. Scully. 

He organized the Steamboat Captains' Benevolent Associa- 
tion of New Orleans in 1858. Also the Auxiliary Association 
in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Pittsburgh. He held 
the position of President of the Pittsburgh, Alleghany and 
Manchester Passenger Railway Co. from 1866 to 1884; with 
eighteen years under his management the road was a great suc- 
cess. 

He has built, owned and controlled more steamboats than 
any other man on Western and Southern rivers. And after a 
life of almost unrequiting hard labor, he is now enjoying his 
much deserved rest, at his home in Alleghany surrounded by 
a very devoted family. 

[Communicated.] 
Captain R. C. Gray 

was born in Alleghany City, Pennsylvania, on Septem- 
ber 24th, 1822, and died at Fifth Avenue Hotel, New 
York, on May 28th, 1888. When he was quite, young he 
went to St. Louis, Missouri, and was engaged with Collier, 
Pettis & Co. in the wholesale grocery business, and was there 
two or three years. Then he went as one of the clerks on the 
steamer Louisville running between St. Louis and New Orleans, 
and then returned to his old home in Alleghany Cit}'. 

In 1841 he w^ent on the river with his brother, U. C. Gray, 
one of the clerks of the steamer Lehigh, and ran from Pitts- 
burgh to St. Louis and New Orleans, and in 1842 his brother 
U. C. Gray took command of the steamer Evaline and R. C. 
Gray went with him as clerk. In 1843 he went on the steamer 
Alleghany with Captain William Dean as clerk, running be- 
tween Pittsburgh and St. Louis, for one season, and then he 
bought Captain Dean's interest and took command of the 
steamer Alleghany and ran here in the packet line between 
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. In 1847 he built the steamer Penn- 
sylvania and took charge of her and run her from Pittsburgh 
to St. Louis for a few years ; sold her and built the Paul Ander- 
son and run her from Pittsburgh to St. Louis and New Orleans. 
Then in 1856 he built the steamer Denmark and took her to 
St. Louis and run her between St. Louis and St. Paul, as one 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



651 



ot the boats forming the line between St. Louis and St. Paul. 
He also built the steamers Sam Young, Latrobe, and Altoona, 
for low water boats between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, to 
connect with Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1860 he built the 
steamer Hawkeye State at Pittsburgh and took her to St, Louis 
and with the Denmark and Hawkeye State, in connection with 
steamer Canada, owned and commanded by Captain James 
Ward, Steamer Pembina, owned and commanded by Captain 




Captain R. C. Gray. 

Thomas Griffith, and other steamers, they organized the 
Northern Line Packet Co. running between St. Louis and St. 
Paul. He then built for the same line the steamers Burling- 
ton, Muscatine, Davenport, Minneapolis, Dubuque, Minnesota, 
DanHine and Lake Superior. 

In 1863 he, in connection with Captain M. W. Beltzhoover, 
established Gray's Iron Line steamers Little Giant and Rover, 
and then building the Ironsides, Iron Mountain, Iron Age, 
Iron Duke and Resolute. These boats were engaged in towing 



652 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



barges transporting iron and steel rails and Pittsburgh's 
manufactured articles on them from Pittsburgh to points on 
the Ohio and Mississippi River and tributaries, and iron ore 
on their return trips. 

At the time of Captain Gray's death, he was president of the 
People's National Bank, Pittsburgh, and a director of the Key- 
stone Bank and also director of the Boatman's Insurance Co., 
and M. and M. Insurance Co. and of the Pittsburgh Alleghany 
and Manchester Passenger Railway and of the Alleghany 
General Hospital and largely interested in the Black Diamond 
Steel Works." 

None knew Captain Gray but to honor and admire his no- 
bility of character and his genial sympathizing nature. 

His record illustrates his enterprise, and those who knew 
him well, will bear willing testimony to his benevolence, of 
which he has left the best possible proof, in the liberal contri- 
bution for the support of the Alleghany General Hospital, as 
well as the many previous contributions to that and many 
other worthy objects of charity. 

He was unostentatious and retiring and only those who knew 
him well could appreciate the quiet, genial exuberance of his 
nature. 

He was firm and prsevering in his purposes and the large 
fortune he left abundantly proves the sagacity of his perceptions. 

Among all the old boatmen who have launched their barges 
and spread their sails on the broad waters of eternity, I know 
of none that have left better evidence of their ability to safely 
and successfully resume and conduct the voyage which awaits 
all mariners who weigh anchor and cross the dark river. 

Capt. Gray never married, but was a great admirer of la- 
dies, and very popular with all and a genial companion. 

He passed away at the age of 66, mourned by all who knew 
his many virtues. 




Captaik Gray's Ikon Line of Barges. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



653 




L. T. Belt. 



The subject of this sketch was born March 19, 1825, in St. 
Clair County, Illinois, on the spot where now stands the town 
of Lebanon. His father, Horatio N. Belt, was born near Bal- 
timore, Md., 1796, fought in the war of 1812, and took part 
in the battle of New Orleans under Gen. Andrew Jackson ; went 
to St. Clair County, Illinois, in 1819. The mother of L. T. 
Belt, Mary Jane AVest, born in South Carolina in 1805, moved 
to St. Clair County, Illinois, in 1822. 

L. T. B.'S CAREER. 

Early years passed on a farm, where he acquired habits of 
industry and economy, attending him through life. River ex- 
perience commenced in 1840 on Illinois River, " keel-boat- 
ing; commenced steamboating in 1845 on steamer " Tioga. In 
1847, he and his brother, Francis T. Belt, purchased the 
steamer Planter, running her in the St. Louis and New Orleans 



654 Gould's history of river navigation. 

trade. Her boilers exploded February 3, 1848, at Twelve-mile 
Island, Illinois River, killing or wounding most of her passen- 
gers and officers. Both owners were badly injured. Upon re- 
covering they rebuilt this boat. She was afterwards blown 
to pieces by a hurricane while lying up at St. Louis. In 
January, 1850, Capt. Belt was married to Miss Elizabeth W. 
Wolff of St. Louis, sister of M. A. Wolff, the noted real es- 
tate agent, and of Geo. C. Wolff, the most widely known 
steamboatraan of his time. In 1852 and 1853 Capt. Belt was 
engaged in merchandising in the town of Fieldon, Illinois. 
He then became connected with the Kingston Coal Co., on 
the Illinois River, having charge of the transportation from 
LaSalle to St. Louis. After engaging in many enterprises, 
covering a long period, he became President of the St. Louis 
and Illinois River Packet Company. 

In 1879 he entered the Bayou Teche trade, Louisiana, with 
the steamer Jno. M. Chambers. He has remained identified 
with that trade up to the present time, being now President and 
Superintendent of the New Orleans and Bayou Teche Packet 
Company. His last and best boat, the steamer Teche, is the 
most complete boat of her class in the South. During his 
busy career, Capt. Belt has served, either as clerk, pilot, mas- 
ter or owner of the following boats : Tioga, Planter, Kings- 
ton, Movestar, Saluda, Ocean Wave, Challenge, Mary C., 
Americus, Sam Gaty, City of Pekin, Brazil, Beardstown, La- 
Salle, Belle of Alton, Illinois, Tyrone, Isabel, Utah, Walter 
B. Dance, Post Boy, Arabian, Iowa, Lady Lee, George C. 
Wolff, City of Memphis, Edward Walsh, Olive Branch, Lady 
Gay, Glencoe, Cornelia, Atlantic, P. W. Strader, Jas. H. 
Whitelaw, J. M. Chambers, Key West, Ashland, Sunbeam and 
Teche. Capt. B. served from 1873 to 1876 as County Treas- 
urer of St. Louis, Missouri. Besides his steamboat interest, 
he is engaged in the coal business, being senior member of 
the firm of L. T. Belt & Co. Has not been out of active busi- 
ness a day in forty-five years, has lost only twenty-seven days 
from sickness, and no man of his age is better preserved, men 
tally and physically. Was one of eight brothers and four sis- 
ters, of whom four brothers and one sister are living. Filial 
affection is a strong trait with Capt. B. For the twenty years 
previous to her death he never, but once, no matter how great 
the distance, failed to visit his aged mother on her birthday. 
Is an active and honored member of the M. E. Church South, 
being President of the Board of Trustees, member of the Board 
of Stewards, and Superintendent of the Sabbath-school in 
Rayne Memorial Church, New Orleans. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



655 




Claiborne Greene Wolff, 

familiarly called *' George " by his friends, was born at Louis- 
ville, Ky., March 17th, 1829. He was the son of Abraham 
Wolff, a native of London, England, and of Susan Franklin, 
of Louisville, Ky. The subject of this sketch was one of three 
brothers, and four sisters. The only surviving brother is 
Marcus A. Wolff, of St. Louis. The four sisters, Mrs. James 
Hurley and Mrs. Josie Page, of St. Louis ; Mrs. George H. 
Lee, of San Francisco, and Mrs. L. T. Belt, of New Orleans, 
are all living at this time (1889). From his earliest years, 
Mr. Wolff evinced a predilection for " the river," and this 
fondness for river pursuits followed him through life. He 
began his river career when a mere youth, and being faithful 
and efficient, his services were in constant demand. In 1848 



656 Gould's history of river navigation. 

he served as pantryman on the famous steamboat Convoy, 
commanded by Captahi, afterwards Commodore, C. K. Garri- 
son. Mr. Wolff ahvays aUuded to this with pardonable pride. 
He left the hitter position to accept that of steward on the ill- 
fated steamer Planter, where he remained until the vessel was 
wrecked by a storm in the summer of 1851. Mr. Wolff was 
one of the officers of the Ocean Spray, on the occasion of her 
celebrated race with the fleet Hannibal City. When the Ocean 
Spray took flre above St. Louis, atBissell's Point, and burned 
to the water's edge, and a large number of lives were lost, Mr. 
WoHf proved himself a true hero, and, aided by his great swim- 
ming powers, he rescued many persons fi^pm what seemed certain 
death. He afterwards became associated with the lUinoisKiver 
Packet Co., and remained with it until its dissolution. While 
he was with this company the steamer Geo. C. Wolff, named 
after him, was built and equipped under his supervision. 

In 1861 he formed a copartnership with Mr. Geo. A. 
Hynes, of St. Louis, under the firm name of Wolff' & Hynes, 
liquor dealers. This house transacted an enormous business 
at one time, owning the " bars " or thirty boats, including all 
those of the celebrated Atlantic and Mississippi S. S. Co.'s Line. 

Several years before his death Mr. Wolff's health became 
impaired. Accompanied by his faithful brother " Mark," he 
passed one season in Colorado, in hope that the invigorating 
climate of that region would effect a cure. The insidious 
disease, consumption, could only be checked, however, and 
on October 18th, 1881, there passed away one of the bravest 
and gentlest spirits the world has ever known, at the age of 
52, leaving a widow and one married daughter. 

Mr. Wolff was a remarkable man in many ways. His 
memory was remarkable, and his mind was filled with steam- 
boat statistics and reminiscences sufficient to fill volumes. 
Self-sacrificing to a fault, he never spared himself when a 
Sfood deed was to be done. His hio-hest delight was in alle- 
viatingthe sorrows of others, while his own misfortunes were 
endured in silence. He was literally the poor man's friend. 
His great heart was easily moved to sympathy, and distress 
never appealed to him in vain. He was a consistent member 
of the Baptist Church, and died in the full belief of a blessed 
immortality. 

He sleeps amid the peaceful shades of Bellefontaine Ceme- 
ter}', St. Louis, and his ashes repose beneath a monument 
erected by his many friends. Carved thereon, in endurmg 
marble, is the representation of a Mississippi River steamboat, 
fitting symbol of his chosen and idolized vocation. Surely 
the world is better for his bavins^ lived. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



657 




i2 



658 



Gould's history of river navigation. 




Captain James Dozier. 



Capt. James Dozier was born in Nash County, N. C, Jan. 
7, 1806, the son of Thomas Dozier, and descended from an 
old and well-known Virginia family. Of Capt. Dozier's boy- 
hood little is recorded, but that he was of a stirring and ad- 
venturous spirit may be inferred from the fact that when but 
eighteen years old he migrated to the West, his only attendant 
beino- Peter, a negro boy, whom his father had given him. 
The journey, which was undertaken by land, was a toilsome 
one, there being no railroads then, and only a few primitive 
steamboats. He settled near Paris, Tenn., where, after a 
short season spent in farming, he commenced the mercantile 
business in a small way, and followed this pursuit several 
years with excellent success, having gained the confidence of 
all with whom he came in contact. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. ()59 

III 1826, Mr. Dozier married Miss Mary A. Dudgeon, the 
daughter of John Dudgeon, originally of Virginia, but later of 
near Lexington, Ky., where most of his family were born. 
In 1828, accompanied by his father-in-law and family, and two 
other families of that neighborhood, he emigrated to Missouri, 
settling in the upper part of St. Louis County, near the Vir- 
ginia settlement of the Tylers and Colemans, families whose 
descendants are among the leading people of that locality. 
HereCapt. Dozier and Mr. Dudgeon, his father-in-law, leased 
the old McAllister tan-yard, and operated it with success for 
some years, when Capt. Dozier retired and resumed the mer- 
cantile business. He continued in this employment for a few 
years, and finally removed to the north side of the Missouri 
River, into St. Charles County, where he lived for many years. 
Here he laid the foundation of his subsequent fortune, con- 
ducting a flourishing business as a merchant and farmer, and 
became one of the leading men of that region. By frugality 
and industry he accumulated a large estate, consisting of lands, 
stock, etc., and in doing so was greatly aided by the most es- 
timable of wives, of whom it was justly said that " she was a 
bee that brought a good deal of honey to that hive." 

In 1844, Mr. Dozier engaged in the steamboat business, and 
owned and operated successively the Warsaw, Lake of the 
Woods, St. Louis Oak, Cora, Mary Blane, and Elvira (a boat 
of much reputation in her day, and named for his second 
daughter). Later, he or his sons owned the Rowena, Thomas 
E. Tutt, Mollie Dozier, etc. There are doubtless many old 
steamboatmen yet living in whom the mention of the names of 
these vessels will awaken the most interesting recollections. 
Those were the palmy days of steamboating on the Missouri 
River, and the vessels owned by Capt. Dozier made his name 
widely known along that stream and its tributaries, and every- 
where respected as a synonym of all that was honest and 
straightforward. He was a contemporary and acquaintance 
of Capts. Roe, Throckmorton, La Barge, Eaton, Kaiser, and 
others, most of whom he survived. 

In 1854, Capt. Dozier retired from the river to his country 
home, where he built a fine residence near the river bank. A 
more beautiful place or a better improved farm, or rather set 
of farms, could, perhaps, not have been found on the Missouri 
River than that of Capt. Dozier, at " Dozier's Landing." 
His house was ever open to his friends and neighbors, and for 
the twenty years he lived in St. Charles County was seldom 
without some visitors. His charities to the poor and orphans 
were of the most generous character, and his house at times 



660 Gould's history of eiver navigation. 

was the home of many unfortunates. In his numerous bene- 
factions he was wholly free from ostentation, and the world 
never knew of most of his deeds of benevolence. Capt. 
Dozier was an owner of slaves, but a kind and thoughtful 
master. 

Immediately after the war he removed to St. Louis, and in 
1867 formed a partnership with the long-established and well 
known baker, Joseph Garneau, in the bakery business. In 
1872 this firm was dissolved, and Capt. Dozier then founded 
the present large baking establishment of the Dozier-Weyl 
Cracker Company, than which perhaps no manufacturing es- 
tablishment in America is better known, it being probably the 
largest cracker-factory in the world. 

Capt. Dozier died July 15, 1878, after but a few hour's 
illness. For more than twenty years he had been a con- 
sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and 
enjoyed the confidence and respect of the members of that 
communion, by whom his counsels were prized and his ex- 
ample is held in affectionate remembrance. As a citizen, he 
stood very high, yet his real worth was appreciated only by 
those who knew him intimately, for his nature was reserved, 
and while his friends embraced all with whom he was ever 
brought into business or social relations, comparatively few 
were privileged to thoroughlj^ know and comprehend his char- 
acter. As a business man, though reticent, he was quick to 
decide and equally quick to act, and his judgment was clear 
and seldom at fault. Consequently he left to his family a 
good heritage, the accumulation of a lifetime of economy and 
upright dealing, but he bequeathed also what they prize far 
more, the life record of a good citizen, a loving husband, and 
a wise and tender father. 



Henry A. Ealer. 

New Orleans, March 24, 1889. 
Captain E. W. Gould, St. Louis, Mo.: 

Please find enclosed memorandum of names of the princi- 
pal steamboats I have been engaged on as master or pilot 
since my connection with the waters of the Mississippi Valley. 

I was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1820. At the 
age of twelve I sailed from Baltimore for Rio Janerio, on the 
brig Sultan, with Capt. Willis. Returning from there in the 
spring of 1835, 1 went to St. Louis and shipped on the steam- 
boat John Nelson, with Capt. John P. Moore. Subsequently, 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



661 



Capt. John Carlisle took command of the boat, and I made an 
arrangement with him to learn to be a pilot to New Orleans. 

In 1839 I commenced standing a watch in the New Orleans 
trade. 

In 1841 I was promoted to the captancy of the steamer 
Telegraph. 

Later on I was pilot on the Alton, with Capt. John Simonds ; 
on the Boonslick, with Capt. John R. Shaw; on the Maid 




Henry A. Ealek. 

of Orleans and the Harry of the West, with Capt. 
Van Houtan; on the Algonquin, with Capt. Hiram 
Kountz ; Alex Scott, Capt. John C. Swan ; Express Mail, 
Capt. Wm. Kountz; Convoy, Capt. C. K. Garrison; Joan of 
Arc, Bulletin and John Simonds, with Capt. C. B. Church; 
Duke of Orleans, with Capt. Holmes; Pawnee and High- 
lander, with Capt. E. H. Gleim. 



662 Gould's history of river navigation. 

I was master of the sinizle engine steamer St. Louis, then 
on the Eudora, then on the Princeton, in the New Orleans and 
Ouachita River trade. In 1851 I built the H. D. Bacon, and 
in 1856 the steamer Planet and J. H. Oo^lesb}'. 

Subsequently I resumed piloting, and have been pilot on 
more than one hundred different steamboats during my expe- 
rience. 

The Wyoming, Capt. Henry Keath, was the last boat I was 
engaged on in the capacity of a pilot. 

I shall never forget the many pleasant years I have spent on 
the Mississippi River and its tributaries, nor the many genial 
officers of steamboats who it has been my privilege to associ- 
ate with in all these long years. 

I must not forget to say I was pilot on one of Admiral Far- 
agut's gunboats that went up the Mississippi above Vicksburg, 
drawing eighteen feet of water, in 1862. 

Trusting my recollections may awaken pleasant reminis- 
cences in the minds of some of your readers 

I remain yours truly, 

Henry A. Ealer. 

P. S. — Inclosed please find my photo which, if agreeable, I 
should like inserted in your forthcoming work. 

H. A.E. 



Captain James Ward 

was born at Southerly, Norfolk County, England, on the 22 
of December, 1814. 

His father was a boatman in the native place of the subject 
of this sketch. 

His mother's maiden name was Hannah Porter. The early 
life of James presented but few advantages and to his own 
exertions, his habits of industry and strict integrity may be 
attributed his success in life. 

To-day one of the prosperous merchants of St. Louis, hon- 
ored and respected by his acquaintances, he stands deservedly 
high as a self-made man. He had but a small share of school 
advantages, and at the age of 12 was put to work in the ship- 
yard at Southerly, to learn boat-building with his elder brother. 
Here he remained nine years, when he emigrated to Amer- 
ica, landing in New York, May 1st, 1836. He went to 
Brownsville, Penn., and worked in the ship yard until Sep- 
tember 1837, when he shipped on the steamboat Fayette, as 
carpenter, where he continued in the Pittsburgh and Louisville 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



663 



trade until the mitldle of the next summer, when he went to 
Wheeling, Virginia, veiwing the lower trade as better suited 
to his business, and as offering better facilities for rising in 
the world. Mr. Ward moved to St. Louis in November, 
1838, and settled there. 

He first worked at his trade in the ship-yard, and after- 
wards shipped on the steamer lone as carpenter. 




Captain James Ward. 

He subsequently worked in the same capacity on the steamer 
Amaranth, until the fall of 1843. 

'^In the spring of 1844, in company with Hiram Berzie, Wm. 
Cupps, and James Megan, he built the steamer St. Croix 
and ran her in the Galena trade until 1847, serving all that 
time as mate. * 

He then sold his interest in her and with two others, built 
the steamer St. Peters and ran her in the Galena and 



664 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Dubuque trade. After the first year he served as captain and 
built up considerable reputation as an officer of first-class ad- 
ministrative ability. This steamer was burned at the levee in 
St. Louis in the great fire of 1849. That fall he purchased 
the steamer Financier and that winter bought and com- 
manded the steamer Excelsior in the St. Louis and St. Paul 
trade until the fall of 1855. Selling her, he was captain on 
the York State, the same season but traded her for the 
Connestoga for the same trade in 1857. 

The same summer he built two steamers, the Canada and 
the Pembina, at Pittsburgh, himself filling the position as 
captain on the Canada. These steamers he put in the 
same trade in 1858, and thus made the nucleus of the 
Northern Line Packet Co., whose boats ran from St. Louis 
to St. Paul. 

For the immense trade that has sprung up from this be- 
ginning, and which has so materially added to the commercial 
prosperity of St. Louis, that city is indebted to Capt. Ward. 

The directors were Thos. H. Griffith, Darins, Hunkins, 
K. C. Gray, T. B. Ehodes, Thos. Gordon, J. W. Parker, all 
being owners. 

At this time they owned the Denmark, Heniy Clay, Metro- 
politan, Wm. S. Ewing, Minnesota Belle, Hawkeye State, and 
Sucker State, and run three boats per week from St. Louis. 

The Northern Line Packet Co. was organized under the 
laws of Illinois, in 1860, and had its principal office at East 
St. Louis, with a capital stock of $300,000. They then pur- 
chased boats enough to make a daily line. For the first three 
years Capt. Ward acted as president of the line. Subsequently 
he was superintendent. In 1868-69 he was again elected 
president, but soon after sold his stock, and retired from the 
river, and engaged in the ship chanderling business in St. 
Louis, in company with his son and another gentleman, under 
the firm name of Ward & Brady, where they still carry on an 
extensive business in the same line. 

Capt. Ward congratulates himself upon the fact that in his 
long experience as master of many steamboats, no lives were 
lost, and but one boat, which was burned in the great fire in 
St. Louis in 1849. He has for many years been an active 
Mason and a member in good standing in the order of Knights 
Templar. 

In 1847 he married Miss Annie Johnston, of St. Louis, 
whose parents emigrated from Ireland at an early day, and 
settled ther-e. They have five ehildren, viz. : Hannah, now 
Mrs. Wm. H. Owings ; Thomas H., now engaged in business 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



665 



with his father; Mary E., Liilie H., and Ella 8. now living 
with their parents in St. Louis. 

Capt. Ward has never been an active politician, but his 
sympathies are with the Democratic party, to whose princi- 
l^als he still adheres. He was raised in the Episcopal church 
and still associates with that denomination as a member in 
good standing. 




BuRRis D. Wood. 



[Communicated.] 
Capt. Burr. D. Wood was born in Pittsburgh, March 15, 
1836. His father, Jonathan H. Wood, being a prominent 
boat-builder of that city, whose death occurred in 1849. The 
mother, Mrs. Wood, a grand old lady, is still living in the 
homestead at Pittsburgh at the age of 75 years. Capt. Wood 



666 Gould's history of riveh navigation. 

has five brothers, John A., the wealthy coal operator of Pitts- 
burgh; James O., associated in business with him ; Jonathan 
H., a prominent tow-boatman ; David D., w^ho is blind, and W. 
Murph, in charge of a large tug and coal fleet in the New Or- 
leans harbor. Capt. B. D. Wood, at 16 years, was ap- 
prenticed to a nail manufacturer, which trade he worked at 
for 13 years. In 1866 he went to New Orleans to establish 
the coal business, and in 1871 had established the firm of B. 
D. Wood & Bros., with a branch house at Baton Rouge, La. 
At this time, Capt. Wood is at the head of a large and flourish- 
ing coal business, with a branch house at Plaquemine, La., 
nnder the name of B. D. Wood & Sons, his sons. Will H. 
and Elmer E., being associated with him in business. Capt. 
Wood is the chairman of the executive committee on the im- 
provement of the Western water-ways, and was the moving 
spirit of the river improvement conventions held at St. Louis, 
New Orleans, St. Paul, Washington, D. C, Kansas City and 
Memphis, and in'furtherance of the objects of which has ap- 
peared frequently before the committees of the United States 
Senate and House, to urge the propriety and necessity of ap- 
propriations for the improvements of rivers and harbors. Capt. 
Wood is also a member of the river improvement committee of 
the New Orleans Cotton Exchange and of the Board of Trade. 
He is also the first vice-president of the National Board of 
Steam Navigation, and has been diligent and conspicuous in 
the workings of that board. He was a member of the finance 
committee of the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial 
Exposition of 1885, and Director-General of the North, South 
and Central Americas Exposition. Capt. Wood has been mar- 
ried twice, his first wife, deceased, was Miss Minnie Widney, 
daughter of the late Charles Widney, of Pittsburgh ; his 
second wife, to whom he was married in 1877, was Miss Emma 
Phillips, daughter of Henry H. Phillips, a prominent citizen 
of Pennsylvania, who died at Baton Rouge in 1878. Mrs. 
Wood's untiring energy, intelligence, and refinement are 
always prominent in works of charity and temperance. 
She is the vice-president of the Woman's Christian Temper- 
ance Union, also one of the board of managers of the 
Christian Woman's Exchange, and of the Woman's Memorial 
Home. Capt. Wood is distinctly a self-made man, of high 
standing as a Mason, and who by his energy, integrity, man- 
liness, genial warmth of nature, spirit of enterprise, and a 
studied regard for the prosperity of the city of his adoption, 
has become the center of a host of prominent river and business 
men of New Orleans. 



BIOGRAPHICAL,. 



667 




Capt. T. p. Leathers. 



[From New Orleans Picayune, Dec, 1888.] 

Captain Thomas P. Leathers was born in Kenton county, 
Ky., on May 24, 1816. He was the fourth son of a family of 
five boys and four girls. His father, John Leathers, one of 
the pioneers of Kentucky, was for years a tobacconist and 
farmer in Kenton county, five miles from the Ohio river, and 
owned a number of slaves. 

Captain Leathers formed a liking for the river at an early 
age, and in 1836 he commenced his successful river career 
with his brother, Captain John Leathers, as mate on the Ya- 



668 gould"s history of river navigation. 

zoo river steamer Sunflower, which position he held until 1840. 
He and his brother then built the Princess No. 1 and ran her 
in the Yazoo Eiver trade, and later in the New Orleans, 
Natchez and Vicksburg trade. They then built the steamers 
Princess Nos. 2 and 3 for the same trade and ran them with 
great success for several years. In 1845 Captain T. P. Leath- 
ers built the first of the series of steamers Natchez at the 
mouth of Crawfish bayou, the hull by S. W. Hartshorne and 
the machinery by Anthony Harkness. She was a very fast 
two-boiler boat, with 20-inch cylinders, 8 feet stroke. This 
boat he ran in the New Orleans and Vicksburg trade as a Sat- 
urday packet until 1848, when finding that the increase of 
business demanded a larger boat, he sold her to Captain John 
Pierce. He then contracted with Burton Hazen of Cincinnati 
for the the Natchez No. 2. This boat had 3 boilers and 
24-inch cylinders, with 8 feet stroke, and also proved very 
fast. 

Captain Leathers ran the second Natchez until 1852, when 
he sold her and contracted with Cincinnati parties for a much 
larger and finer boat, the Natchez No. 3. She had 6 boilers 
and 34-inch cylinders, with 9 feet stroke, and had a carrying 
capacity of 4,000 bales of cotton. The career of the Natchez 
No. 3 was very short, as she had run only six weeks when she 
burned in February, 1853, during the great fire at the wharf 
in front of this city, which originated on the Belcher and de- 
stroyed some ten or twelve boats. Captain Leathers' brother 
James was asleep in the texas of the Natchez at the time the 
fire broke out and perished in the flames. 

Soon after the destruction of the Natchez No. 3 Captain 
Leathers proceeded to Cincinnati and built the Natchez No. 4, 
a 6-boiler boat with 34-inch cylinders, 9 feet stroke. She had 
a capacity of 4,400 bales. The No. 4 Captain Leathers ran 
successfully until 1859, when he built at Cincinnati the Natchez 
No. 5, with the same power and a capacity of 5,000 bales of 
cotton. She was also very fast, and ran up to the eve of the 
surrender of New Orleans, when she was taken to the Yazoo 
River and was destroyed by the Confederates at Honey Island, 
150 miles above Yazoo City. Captain Buchanan, after the 
war, wrecked what remained of this steamer, under instruc- 
tions of Captain James B. Eads, and for which Captain Leath- 
ers got judgment against Captain Eads for $20,000. The 
money, however, he failed to collect. 

During the war Captain Leathers remained away from the 
river. After the declaration of peace and the resumption of 



BIOGRAPHICAL. (JG9 

business Captain Leathers became interested successively in 
the Magenta and General Quitman, and ran them in the New 
Orleans and Vicksburg trade. The Quitman sunk in 1868 at 
Morgan's Landing. On top of the pilot-house of the steamer 
Quitman was a statue of General Quitman, which was saved 
from the wreck and now stands on the warehouse at New 
Texas Landing, a monument to the memory of the faithful 
craft. The steamer Magenta was destroyed by fire at this city 
while in charge of Captain J. Stut Neal. 

Captain Leathers, in 1869, built the Natchez No. 6. Her 
hull was constructed by the Cincinnati Marine Ways, cabin by 
Elias Ealer, boilers by C. T. Dumont and machinery by the 
Niles works. She had eight boilers and 34-inch cylinders, 10 
feet stroke, and had a capacity of 5,500 bales. During her 
career of nine and a half years in the New Orleans and Vicks- 
burg trade she made 401 trips without an accident causing 
a single loss of life. This steamer was made famous by her 
great race with the steamer Robert E. Lee from New Orleans 
to St. Louis. 

In 1879, the present steamer Natchez, which is the seventh 
of that name built by Captain Leathers, was launched at Cin- 
cinnati, and is one of the most substantial and elegant steam- 
ers ever constructed for the Western or Southern waters, and 
is reputed to be the fastest on the Mississippi River. Her dir 
mensions are : length, 303i feet : beam 46i feet ; depth of 
hold, 10 feet. She has eight steel boilers 36 feet long and 
43 inches in diameter, containing two flues each, 15| inches in 
diameter. Her cylinders are 34 inches in diameter, with 10 
feet stroke. Her boilers and machinery were furnished by C. 
T. Dumont. She has a carrying capacity of about 6,000 
bales of cotton. This boat Captain Leathers ran successfully 
until about two years ago, when he laid her up owing to the 
falling off of river business, and built the steamer T. P. 
Leathers, a stern-wheel boat, to take her place as a Saturday 
packet in the Vickburg trade. The T. P. Leathers is a 4500- 
bale boat and the fastest of her inches afloat. At the com- 
mencement of the busy season this year Captain Leathers, 
finding that the prospects were good for a fine trade, again 
started the Natchez out, and now has her running as a Tues- 
day packet to Greenville, the T. P. Leathers leaving here 
every Saturday for Vicksburg. 

Captain Leathers for many years has been considered au- 
thority on all river matters, and his counsel has frequently 
been sought after by prominent men in the country. In 



670 Gould's history of river navigation. 

1874 he appeared before the committee oii waterways in 
Washinpfton, D. C, in 1875 before the senate committee, and 
in 1882 before the commerce committee, on which occasions 
his views on river improvements were asked and given. At 
the waterways convention, held in this city during the late ex- 
position, Captain Leathers also made a lengthy speech on the 
improvement of rivers. Captain Leathers is over 6 feet in 
height and large in proportion, and though carrying the 
weight of over three score and ten winters, is still hale and 
hearty and looks good for many more years of usefulness. 

Nine Steamers Named Natchez. 

The first steamboat named Natchez was built in New York 
in 1823 for the New Orleans and Natchez trade, where she con- 
tinued to run until 1832. She had a low pressure engine of 
the "VVatt & Burton type, with walking beam and condenser. 
She measured 366 tons. She was commanded by Captain H. 
S. Buckner, of New Orleans. 

The second boat called Natchez was also built in New York. 
She was a regular sea-going boat, intended to run between 
that city and Natchez. She was built in 1836 and partially 
owned in Natchez, but proved to be too heavy draught for 
the trade and was finally sold to the Brazilian government and 
converted into a war steamer, for which she was better 
adapted. This writer recollects finding her aground at Natch- 
ez Island on one occasion drawing 12 feet, which was more 
water than there was at that ])oint. After working to relieve 
her several hours with the steamer Knickerbocker, we pro- 
duced no more effect than an ordinary tug boat would on the 
Great Eastern and left in disgust. She was subsequently 
lighted off and retired from the trade. 

The third Natchez was built by Captain Leathers in 1845, 
who subsequently built six others. 

The last, or ninth one, sunk at Lake Providence, in Feb- 
ruarv, 1889. 



ONE OF THE FASTEST. 



671 




672 gould's history of river navigation. 

Captain Joseph Brown. 

St. Louis, Mo., April, 1889. 
Captain E. IF. Gould: 

My Dear Sir — I have your favor of the 19th inst, sug- 
gesting that I write for your forthcoming book, some of my 
experiences as a riverman. 

I would willingly do anything in my power to assist you in 
your undertaking, but whether I shall be able to interest the 
general reader is the question. 

However, at the risk of being thought egotistical, I will 
give a short outline of my early interest in, and subsequent 
connection with steamboating on the Mississippi River. 

In 1834 my father moved West to St. Louis, bringing my- 
self, then quite a small boy, with several other children ; but 
not liking St. Louis, it being situated then in a slave State, 
and as Alton was at that time a rival of St. Louis, he moved 
there, taking me, of course, along with the family. 

I early developed a great taste for the river, and though a 
small boy, spent much of my time on the wharf, noticing 
the boats, and their comings and goings. 

At that time Alton was considered the head of navigation 
for New Orleans boats, and in some cases the upper river 
boats stopped at Alton and went back to Galena and other 
points without going to St. Louis at all, some of the New 
Orleans boats, as well as some of the up river boats, belonging 
exclusively to Alton. Nearly all the boats at that time had 
but one engine and no docter (so called) but pumped the 
water into the boilers with a pump attached to the main 
engine, which, when the boat was lying at the bank, the water 
wheels had to be unshipped, so as to let the engine work the 
pump, without moving the wheels while the boat was at the 
wharf; and it was this troublesome way of supplying water 
into the boilers together with the unchecked amount of steam 
carried that caused so many explosions. 

At that time, say from 1836 to 1840, all traffic and travel 
was carried on by boat, there being no railroads in the West, 
and but one or two in the East, consequently the boats were 
generally crowded with freight and passengers, and particularly, 
as the largest boats of that day only carried about four or live 
hundred tons, and the cabin, if they had any, was on the main 
deck, and aft of the shaft back at the stern, and I can well re- 
member when the first upper cabin steamers were built, that 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



673 



they were advertised as "the splendid upper cabiri steamers," 
&c. 

About that time, and while I was still a boy, every boat had, 
or gave out from the escapement of its steam, its own pecu- 
liar sound, and taking the deep interest in them that I did, I 
could tell the name of nearly any boat in the night by the 




Captain Joseph Brown. 

sound of the escapement. At that time there were no whistles 
and no government regulations for boats meeting each other, 
though the bell was unsatisfactorily used to designate which 
side each boat wanted to take, and there was even a time when 
that was not used. 

I remember in the years 1836-7, when still a boy, and alive 
to all that pertained to steamboats, that two steamers more 

43 



674 Gould's history of river navigation. 

particularly attracted my attention. One was the Paul Jones, 
and the other the Champion. The latter was a low-pressure 
steamer with a walking-beam engine, and as she would near 
the landing one of her firemen would mount the walking- 
beam and with a flag in his hand would wave it to the admir- 
ing crowd. I then thought if I could ever be in that man's 
place I would be the biggest man in the town. 

The first steamer I became interested in was the Luella, a 
small boat only 100 feet long, but with an engine in her that 
had belonged to, or been in a New Orleans boat, and as the 
power was quite large for the Luella, it made her very fast, so 
that she was the fastest boat of her day running above St. 
Louis. 

While interested in her, an opposition boat was put in the 
Alton and St. Louis trade against her, and the result was that 
the price of passage was put down by the Luella company from 
seventy-five cents each way to ten cents for twenty-five miles, 
with supper coming up. 

That state of things lasted nine mouths, loosing a good deal 
of money by both parties, when a compromise was effected, 
and in a short time the far famed Altona was built. 

I made the contracts and superintended the building or 
her, and when it was time to decide how much boiler power 
she was to have, the foundry men and engine builders said 
four boilers would make her the fastest boat above St. 
Louis. I said put in one more and make her the fastest 
boat on the river, and she was. I have landed her several 
times from Alton to St. Louis (25 miles) from wharf to 
wharf in fifty-six minutes, and she made the trip from St. 
Louis to Alton, against a five-mile current, in one hour 
and thirty-seven minutes, time that has never been beaten, 
and as there are now government restrictions on the amount 
of steam carried, her time never will be beaten. 

I made it a point to run the steamer Altona from St. Louis 
to Alton just as long (in winter) as the ice floated, and often 
while the St. Louis ferry-boats were tied to the bank, and 
when no boat was arriving or leavius St. Louis but herself; 
and the result was, she paid for herself in just one year, at 
which time the Chicago & Alton Railroad purchased her at 
her original cost and run her in connection with that road, 
which then terminated at Alton. It would be hardly worth 
while to go into an account of all the steamers I have run, 
built, or been interested in, but among the most pleasurable 
trades that I ever ran in were the St. Louis & Keokuk and 
St. Louis & New Orleans trades. There was, during those 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 675 

years that I steamboated, not only a profit but a pleasure, — 
an exhilaration in the business, a constant change of scene, of 
faces and circumstances, and 1 knew then of nothing more ex- 
hihirating, or more enjoyable than to run one of the finest 
and fastest steamers on the Mississippi River. AVhen, after a 
day or two's laborious work on the levee, probably in the 
broiling sun, I knew of no greater pleasure than to see the 
boat headed up stream with a good cargo and a full register 
of passengers and to stand on the hurricane roof and see her 
plow the water " like a thing of life." 

Probably the finest boat that I ever built was the Mayflower, 
in 1854, a very large and fine steamer. She and the John 
Simonds were the only three-deckers ever built for 
the Mississippi River, the 3rd or middle deck being be- 
tween the main and the boiler-deck, and intended for deck or 
steerage passengers, but emigration by New Orleans be- 
coming checked, I afterwards altered her for a cotton boat, so 
that the middle deck was taken out and the boat put in the 
Memphis and New Orleans trade, where she was set on fire and 
burned, lying at the wharf at Memphis, by the steamer Geo. 
Collier, landing alongside of her while on fire, so as to save 
her own passengers. 

It must not be understood, that during all the forty ox- 
fifty years of my life I did nothing but run steamboats, for 
both before and after I had satisfied my taste for steam- 
boating, I was interested in lines of steamboats, the most 
notable of which was the Atlantic & Mississippi Steamship 
Company, in 1866, of which I was one of the Presidents; con- 
sisting of some 28 steamers that plied between St. Louis and 
New Orleans. This line consisted of many very splendid steam- 
ers, but the company was formed out of steamers owned by 
individuals who managed to put them into the company at 
very high prices, and the result was the company started under 
a load of debt which it never could pay, and that, together with 
the fact that the business of the South had not at that time 
sufficiently recovered from the effects of the war to sustain a 
line of that magnitude. 

So that, after a struggle of three or four years to pay out, 
and failing, the line which had lost eleven steamers by explos- 
ion and other accidents, and without insurance, was placed in 
the hands of Mr. W. J. Lewis, now deceased, and myself to sell 
and pay the debts, which was fully done, but the stockholders 
got little or nothing, a stock of some two millions of dollars 
having been sunk. However, in justice to myself, I must say 
I was not connected with it as an officer at its inception or at 



676 Gould's history of river navigation. 

its close, but was a loser as a stockholder to the extent of about 
seventy thousand dollars. 

Nor must it be thought from what I have said, that steam- 
boating in those days was all ease, comfort and pleasure. Far 
from it; 1 have run a steamboat into New Orleans (the St. 
Louis), when the death rate from yellow fever was over 100 a 
day, and that, too when, more than half the population had lied 
the city. I have been on a boat when over sixty died from chol- 
era on the trip up (seven days). Of narrow escape I might fill 
a volume. I will relate one : I was commanding the Jennie 
Deans in the New Orleans trade when we carried 180 pounds 
of steam to the square inch, and had it at the time when she 
picked up a snag that came up through the lower guard, strad- 
dled the copper steam pipe and bent it up through the boiler- 
deck, until it hemmed in a man in his berth, so that when the 
boat was stopped he had to climb over the bent pipe to get 
out of his berth, and yet the pipe did not burst and we ran to 
St. Louis (800, miles) with the bent pipe, but not with 180 
pounds of steam as may be supposed. 

Writing of the Jennie Deans, it might be well to relate a 
feat that I accomplished with her that never was accomplished 
with or by any other boat in the palmiest days of steam- 
boating. 

She was built for the Keokuk trade, but I conceived the 
idea of running her to New Orleans in the winter months, and 
as she only carried about 750 tons she could not compete in 
carrying freight with boats carrying double her capacity and 
be as many days making the trip, so I conceived the notion of 
whipping her through both ways and made twelve trips to and 
from St. Louis and New Orleans in eleven days for the round 
trip, going into each port and coming out the same day and 
making 2,480 miles in eleven days. I have been on boats that 
have sunk and burned, but never on one that exploded, but I 
have come up with them soon after an explosion and seen their 
officers and passengers by the dozen, — yes, I might say by the 
hundred, almost flayed alive, and begging that their friends 
would shoot them. The class of men commanding steam- 
boats on the Western rivers greatly improved in later years, 
not in goodness of heart, but in outward conduct and expres- 
sion. 

I will cite a conversation that occurred on a boat in the 
early times. It was the Autocrat, Captain Goslee. 

It was while the boat was on her upward trip from New 
Orleans to Memphis, she being in the, cotton trade (so 
called). 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 677 

The Autocrat was a seven boiler boat, and said to be a great 
wood consumer. 

The boat happened to be lying at a " wood pile" on the 
Tennessee side, taking in a large lot of light Cottonwood fuel 
when a country passenger came up to the captain, who was 
leisurely whittling a stick, and watching the deck hands take 
on the wood. The country passenger said to the captain, 
"Captain, how much wood will this boat burn in 24 hours," 
" O !" said the captain, "of good hard oak wood, about seventy 
cords." " O ! well, but," saidthe countryman, " how much of 
this kind of wood, this dry cottonwood." " O !" said the cap- 
tain, " of this kind of wood, it would be just like throwing 
shavings into h — 1 !" Another: — 

Commodore Garrison, the millionaire, who died not long ago 
in New York, and brother of R. Garrison & Brothers in 
St. Louis, built partly with his own hands the Convoy, 
and ran her from St. Louis to New Orleans, and one trip we 
had a number of young ladies on board who played a trick on 
him, using a greenhorn to accomplish it, their object being 
to get the " drinks " for the crowd onto the captain, so they 
told the greenhorn to go to the captain and make a bargain 
with him, to let him ring the large bell for the next town, 
which happened to be Memphis, and when he got the privi- 
lege, not to stop ringing until they told him, and they would 
pay all the cost : so the captain, not suspecting the joke, agreed 
for $5 to let the greenhorn, as he thought, ring the bell on 
nearing Memphis; in the meantime the young ladies were 
standing around enjoying the joke, and after the captain bad 
told the greenhorn to ring and thought he had rung enough 
to let the people of Memphis know a boat was coming, he 
turned to him and told him to stop, that that would do, but 
the greenhorn had been put up to it, and said, "O, no, I'm not 
ready to stop yet," when the young ladies set up a loud laugh. 
In the meantime a large crowd had collected on the wharf at 
Memphis to see why the boat continued so long ringing the bell. 

The captain, seeing he was victimized, first otFered him his 
money back to stop, then ten dollars, then twenty, and to 
treat the crowd on the boat besides, and finally a compromise 
was effected by including the crowd on the wharf. 

It must be borne in mind that in the early days of steam- 
boating there were few or no regular packets running in regu- 
lar trades, and leaving on regular days ; going on the principle 
of sailing for cork and a market as ships often do, and queer 
tricks were often resorted to, to get a trip of freight and pas- 
sengers, when other boats were up for the same destination. 



678 GOULD'S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 

Phave often and often known Ohio River boats lie at St. 
Louis with steam up and all the appearances of starting in an 
hour — lay there five or six days, and all the time the captain 
and otficers protesting they were going in as many hours. If 
some passengers were in sight, they would ring the big bell, 
fire up so as to throw out a column of black smoke from the 
chimneys, and work the wheels so as to give every indication 
of starting, when they had not half a cargo and had no idea of 
going. One noted captain, nicknamed " Ephraim Smooth" 
was in the habit of pulling out his watch and saying : " If you 
are over an hour away from the boat you will be left." 

There was another dodge resorted to by some, and as they 
wanted to make all the show of starting by keeping up fire 
without the expense and waste of fuel, or from keeping fire- 
men, one captain full of inventive genius was caught by a 
passenger who had been waiting three days in the delusive 
hope of starting, building a fire in the breeching of the chim- 
neys, and when asked *' What he was doing that for," said : 
" They were new kind of boilers, and had to be fired in that 
way." 

And so I might go on ad infinitum with stories of the early 
days of steamboatiug, but will close, wishing you every suc- 
cess Avith your book. 

Very truly your friend 

Joseph Browx. 



Capt. John N. Bofinqer. 

St. Louis, May 1, 1889. 
My Dear Capt. Gould: 

My steamboat career commenced in the forties on the 
steamboat Ben Franklin No. 7, as second clerk under that ac- 
complished gentleman Jonathan H. Barker, who was first 
clerk, and the veteran F. Blair Summons was the captain, the 
genial Paul Houston, chief engineer, Captain James Hainer and 
Capt. Jacob Remelin, pilots, and Captain Samuel Hildreth, 
mate. This steamer, as well as the steamer Pike No. 7, belonged 
to Strader & Gorman United States Mail Line running between 
Cincinnati and Louisville up to this date. This line of 
steamers was considered the best financially and otherwise on 
the Western waters ; after leaving Cincinnati the first morning 
Mr. Barker called me into his office and said : " Now, John, you 
have assumed the position as second clerk on this boat ; I wish 
you always to treat passengers, shippers and the public pleas- 



BIOGKAl'HICAL. 



679 



anlly and gentlemanly, and when asked a question answer 
them politely. You may be on the wharf Vjusy receiving 
freights, and interrupted by party, with an inquiry about 
some other matter, entirely foreign to your calling. You give 
in return an uncivil answer and turn abruptly away ; in a short 
time after this party may wish to go to Louisville, or ship 







Captain John n. Bofingek. 



some freight ; he comes to the wharf and sees the Ben Franklin 
lying there ; he remembers the uncivil treatment he received 
from its clerk and he goes to another steamer ; but had you re- 
turned a civil answer to this man he might have forgotten that, 
but he would not have harbored any feeling against the boat. 



680 Gould's history of river navigation. 

" III other words," he continued, "John, remember you can 
catch more flies with molasses than Avith vinegar," and I have 
never forgotten that. I remained over a year on that boat. 
Capt. Barker bought the steamers Mountaineer and North 
America. He placed Captain J. Ed. Montgomery in charge 
of the North America and put me in charge of the office. He 
took charge of the Mountaineer with Ira H. Gibbs as clerk, 
and the two steamers took their position as " opposition" 
to the Strader and Gorman United States Mail Line, 
the Mountaineer leaving an hour in advance of the Pike 
No. 7, and the North America in advance of the Ben Franklin 
No. 6. The " opposition" done the business, and kept the 
lead on every trip, when finally Captain Summons, of the 
Ben Franklin, conceived the idea to leave with the North 
America and to pass her underway in sight of Louisville. We 
heard of his intention, and prepared ourselves as best we 
could. During the night our crcAV ''rolled" 25 barrels of rosin 
on board from Sherley's boat-store, and Sunday morning 
found our crew in fine spirits, and ready in all particulars for 
the race. The Ben Franklin, which lay at her wharf above the 
mouth of Bear Grass creek, to all appearances was ready, 
and only waiting to hear our big bell ring — but our captain 
kept his own council and made all inspection as to being ready. 
Pilot Bill Leonard in the pilot-house but not in sight — all 
ready — and the officers at their posts, no captain in sight, 
lines let go, and the engines moved ahead and the North 
America was " out and gone" and shot by the Ben Franklin 
before the " old veteran" of that steamer was aware that the 
North America had left. To get their lines in and ready took 
but a short time, but our boat was abreast of Jetfersonville 
before the Franklin got under way. A stern chase is a long 
one, as in this case ; we landed nearly an hour ahead of the 
Franklin at the Cincinnati wharf, that night. The next day 
Mr. Barker boug-ht out the Mail Line from Strader & Gor- 
man, after one month opposition. 

On the 8th day of April, 1848, I left Cincinnati for St. 
Louis on the good steamer Atlantic as clerk ; Captain Jas. M. 
Broadwell was master. I was captain of this boat about three 
years when I left her in 1854 and took charge of the steamer 
L. M. Kennett. I brought out the steamer Wm. M. Morrison, 
February, 1857 ; bought the steamer Cora Anderson October, 
1859. Sunk her January, 1861 ; returned to the Morrison in 
March, 1861 ; made six trips from St. Louis to New Orleans 
and return in one hundred and one days. The last trip south 
May 14, 1861 ; left St. Louis with 150 cabin passengers, the 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 681 

majority of these had been captured at Camp Jackson, St. 
Louis, May 10th and paroled. The only freight on the boat 
was two bobtail street cars for New Orleans and thirty tomb- 
stones for New Madrid. 20,000 men at Cairo under Gen. 
Prentiss; but was not molested at Cairo. A large number of 
our passengers left the boat at Price's lending, above Cairo, 
fearing that the Federals might " gobble them up." They 
found the walking very bad to Columbus, Ky., where we 
found them, and where we commenced taking on cargo for 
New Orleans, and had a full load before reaching Fort Ran- 
dolph where we found 5,000 Tennesseeans under Gen. Preston 
Smith who examined all steamers descending. On my return 
from New Orleans to Memphis, May 28, 1861, Gen. Gideon 
J. Pillow had stopped all steamers from ascending the river 
above Memphis. My passengers left for the North '< over- 
land," and the freight was stored, and the Morrison choked 
a stump on the Arkansas shore in care of two watchmen, 
May 30, 1861. Since this time I have not been engaged as 
master of steamers, but have ever been an owner in steam- 
boats more than forty years. During the war of rebellion I 
had charge of moving the troops and supplies of Gen. W. T. 
Sherman from Memphis, and Gen. Fred Steele from Helena, 
over 35,000 men. In December, 1862, had 93 steamers em- 
ployed, landing same on the Yazoo River, behind Vicks- 
burg; no accident of any kind. Moved Gen. U. S.Grant 
and 25,500 men from Memphis to Vicksburg, January, 1863 ; 
attended to moving all the supplies and sending forward re- 
cruits from the North until the fall of Vicksburg, July, 1863, 
and as superintendent of the Atlantic and Mississippi Steam- 
ship Co., moved the army North ; was president of the St. 
Louis and New Orleans Packet Co., aft6r the war; held a 
contract, 1869, for transportation of troops and supplies from 
Fort Benton to New Orleans, 4,200 miles. 

My relations with the river interest extends over forty 
years, and I have seen many changes. When I was a boy 
steamboats had their cabins on the stern. For gentlemen, on 
the main deck, for ladies, over same. No state rooms, but 
open berths with curtains, and with a carrying capacity not 
to exceed 500 tons. In 1870, we had steamboats of a carry- 
ing capacity of 2,000 to 2,800 tons, full length cabins, all 
state-rooms and furnished with all the elegance and luxury 
that money could buy. That class of steamboats are of the 
j)ast, except as to packet lines and the barges with the tow- 
boats have taken their place. The time was, 1850, when forty 
or more boats were moored at the St. Louis wharf, loading or 



682 oould's history of river navigation. 

unloading cargoes clail}^ and in 18G9 there were eighty steamers 
employed, running from St. Louis up the Missouri River. 

Respectfully yours, John N. Bofinger. 

Is it Superstition, Fatality or Fact? 

«' Capt. John N. Bofinger is an occasional contributor to 
the St. Louis Times. His letters are full of interest and have 
but the one fault — the time that elapses between them. In a 
recent number of the Times Capt. B. makes the fatality that 
attends the letter M the subject, and writes : " I do assert that, 
with barely an exception, that all steamboats built and run on 
the Mississippi River and its tributaries, whose name com- 
menced with the letter M, were either burnt, sunk, exploded 
or unsuccessful as an investment to their owners. You can 
look over the long list of Missouri, Mississippi, Mary, Michi- 
gan, Marie, Monarch, Mediator, etc., and you will find that 
they met the fate of one as above indicated. * * * Over 
thirty years ago, Capt. John Pierce built the Metamora. I 
tried my best to persuade the captain to name his boat some 
othdr name, and gave him my reasons, going over a large num- 
ber of boats whose name had commenced with the letter M. 
He laughed at what he called a superstitious notion of mine 
and called his boat the Metamora. She was a great success, 
but sank above Choctaw island while she was in her prime. 
Capt. Charley Davis, about the same time, built a splendid 
Cincinnati and New Orleans boat. Davis, like his old partner, 
Pierce, would not listen to my idea, launched and christened 
her the Midas. She sank in the bend above Island 16. Capt. 
Joe Brown built the Maj^tlower sometime during the fifties. 
Long before she was launched I tried to talk him out of callinsf 
the boat by that name — no use. She was burned at Memphis. 

"Our old townsman, Norman Cutter, Esq., bought a hull 
that had been built at Hannibal. Her cabin and machinery 
was put on at St. Louis, where she was finished, and was then 
(1852) the finest boat in the St. Louis and New Orleans trade. 
It was the owner's intention that I should have taken charge 
of the Charles Belcher, which was the name Mr. Cutter gave 
her about a month before the Belcher was ready to start on 
her first trip. I accidently found out from Emerson, who had 
built the hull, that she had been launched and christened 
Magnolia. That was enough for me. Nothing could have in- 
duced me to have taken charge of the Belcher. She was 
burned on her sixth trip at New Orleans. 

"I could name hundreds of instances to show the fatality 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 683 

that seems to shroud the steamboats whose name commeuced 
with the letter M, but will content myself with giving one 
more instance. I was in New Orleans in May, 1875, where I 
met Capt. Frank Hicks and his clerk, Mr. Alt'. Grissom, who 
were at that time building ahull at Metropolis, 111. They 
talked of calling her the Mary Bell. I did my level best to 
persuade them not to call her that name or any name that 
commenced with M ; gave them my reason and recited many 
instances of losses, etc., all to no good ; the boat was called 
Mary Bell, made but a few trips and burnt with a full load at 
Vicksburg. I do not pretend to give an}' reason why a steam- 
boat's name commencing with the letter M should be any more 
unlucky than one commencing with any other letter, but the 
fact still remains, superstitious or not." 

Others besides Capt. Bofinger entertain the same supersti- 
tion, but, as with all other rules, there are exceptions, some of 
which come within our own recollection. For instance: Be- 
fore the war the Majestic, Mary Hunt, Music (two of them), 
and Mary Foley were all coast packets. They lasted the usual 
life of a steaml3oat, say nine years, made money for their 
owners and were dismantled for their machinery. The last 
Magnolia, owned by Captains Shute and Thomasson, the 
largest cotton boat of ante bellum days, was purposely de- 
stroyed during the war. But the Magnolia before her ran 
nine years and was dismantled at New Albany for her ma- 
chinery, the one before this having also been Avorn out. The 
Marsella lived to be about fourteen years old and was sold to 
DaveMcCan & Son for her machinery and old iron. The Mary 
Houston ran for nine years and still lives in a sense, for her 
hull, after twelve years active employment, is now in use as a 
wharf-boat at Monroe. It is safe to suppose that when a boat 
runs for from 5 to 10 or more years without changing owners 
more than once in all this time, if at all, and then voluntary 
sale, she has proved herself a paying investment. Such in- 
stances we can give by mentionino; amonsj others the MoUie 
Moore, Minnie, Major White, Maria Louise and the Mary Ida. 
The Maria Louise is still owned by her builder, Capt. Brinker ; 
has always been a successful boat, and is as staunch and 
serviceable and valuable to-day, perhaps more so, as she 
would be if her name commenced with a B instead of an M, 
and the same may be said of the Mollie Moore. 

A general impression prevails among river men that any 
steamer's name commencing with M will either explode, sink 
or be wrecked. In numerous instances this has resulted. But 
this port had one with a double M, the rafter Mollie Mohler, 



684 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



of the Schulenberg & Boeckeler Lumber Company's fleet. 
She ran successfully for many years and was finally dismantled 
and a new boat built on her hull. This, however, may be said 
to be an exception. 




Capt. Russel Blakely. 



was born in North Adams, Berkshire County, Mass., April 
19th, 1815, of Puritan descent from among the earliest fiimilies 
of Plymouth, Mass., and New Haven, Conn. 

In the year 1817 his parents, Denis Blakely and Sarah Sam- 
son Blakely, emigrated from North Adams to Le Roy, Genesee 
County, New York, where he grew to manhood. 

In the fall of the year 1836 his father and he took the West- 
ern fever and the only cure at that time was to emigrate, and 
they selected Peoria, Illinois, as their objective point. Here- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 685 

mained in Peoria through the varying experiences of the event- 
ful years of 1837 and 1838, and in the summer of 1839 again 
made a new choice and moved to Galena, III., and became 
engaged in mining and smelting in the employ of Capt. H. H. 
Goar, in which he continued until the fall of 1844, when he 
went to Wythe County, Southwestern Virginia, where he en- 
gaofed in making lead, at what have Ions: been known as the 
Austinville Mines. In the summer of 1847 he returned to 
Galena and became engaged in steamboating between Galena 
and St. Paul, Minn., in which he was connected with what was 
known as the Galena and Minnesota Packet Co., during its vari- 
ous changes to 1862, when it was sold out. In 1851 he was 
married to Ellen L. Sheldon at Willow Springs, Wisconsin. 

During the winter 1 855-6 he became interested in the North- 
western Express Co., under the firm name of J. C. Burbauk 
& Co. and in the commission and general forwarding busi- 
ness at St. Paul with Mr. Burbank, under the firm name of 
Blakely & Burbank. In the spring of 1862 he moved to 
St. Paul, Minn., to take part in the management of the ex- 
press and stage business. In the year 1858 J. C. Burbank 
& Co. became contractors with the Government for the trans- 
portation of the mails very extensively in Minnesota 
and the company was known as the Minnesota Stage and 
Northwestern Express Co., and during the years 1858 to 1867 
the business became very extensive, covering the entire State 
and was extended to Fort Garry in Manitoba in 1870, and occu- 
pied and operated the several routes in the State until finally 
superseded by the construction of the railroads on nearly all the 
routes runby the company. When the gold mining excitement 
opened up in the Black Hills in Dakota in the year 1876, 
the stage, express and transportation business from 
Bismarck on the Missouri Kiver to the Black Hills, 
seemed to promise to be very large and profitable, and the 
businsss was then organized under the corporate name of the 
Northwestern Express, Stage and Transportation Co. K. 
Blakely, President, and C. W. Carpenter, Secretary and 
Treasurer, and commenced in 1877 in connection with the 
Northern Pacific R. E. Co. and carried passengers, mail and 
express and transported merchandise. The stage running 
daily carrying passengers, mail and express and the transpor- 
tation of merchandise required a large amount of stock, horses, 
mules and cattle in its operation. With the usual vicissitudes 
ofa new country, this route of operation continued until the 
year 1888 when a railroad finally closed out the business of the 
line. 



686 Gould's history of river xavigation. 

Since the summer of 1847, when Capt. Blakely first hmded 
in St. Paul until the present time, he has been largely connected 
with its interests and has helped to build up its railroad and 
other interests. An active member of the Chamber of Com- 
merce, acknowledged a very zealous and active member of 
the Republican party from its origin. Capt. Blakely and wife 
are in usual health and strength for persons of their age, and 
have a family of six sons and two daughters grown to man 
and womanhood. 



Captain Isaac L. Fisher. 

[Communicated.] 

Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1843, received a 
common school education, was taught the science of naviga- 
tion by his father, who was a shipmaster. His father after- 
wards becoming interested in inland navigation, Captain 
Fisher, served an apprenticeship in the drawing department, 
machine shop, boiler works, and shipyard, serving also as 
engineer, pilot, and master of boats about the New York har- 
bor, and is now the manager of one of the laro^est towing and 
transportation lines in the United States. Capt. Fisher plans 
himself and personally superintends the construction of all of 
the boats of his line, even to the boilers and machinery, and 
has probably done more work of this kind any than man of his 
age in this country. Captain Fisher is a popular man with all 
classes and conditions of people. He has held political offices, 
and although a republican with a democratic constituency, was 
never defeated. He served as alderman 6 years, chief of the 
tire department 3 years, and three successive terms in the 
New Jersey legislature, and was made speaker of the house, 
though strongly opposed by combined railroad influences. 

He was at that time the youngest man in any State to serve 
as speaker. Captain Fisher .was chairman of the Steam and 
Sail Vessel Association, of New York City, for two years, and 
represented that body in the National Board of Steam Naviga- 
tion. For several years he held the office of president of the 
National Board of Steam Navigation, is an active member of 
the executive committee, and honorary president of the board. 
In all matters of reform, and for the general good of the 
steam vessel interests, local and national, Captain Fisher has 
been an indefatigable and successful worker, and to his efforts 
for the protection and promotion of those interests much is 
due. He led in the movement before congress for the abol- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



687 



ishment of the steam recording gauge monopoly, the doing 
away of inspections and license fees, the repeal of the statute 
imposing a tax upon mariners for the support of the Marine 
Hospital, the modifications of the statutes relating to the 
liability of steam vessel owners, and other matters of a like 
nature. 




Captain Isaac L. Fisheb. 



Having an extensive acquaintanceship, and a thoroughly 
practical knowledge, he has been a spirited leader in every 
movement for the better safety of life and property upon the 
waters, and to secure to ves«el owners and employes, just and 
adequate protection, and a proper reward. He served a term 
as private in the late civil war in New Jersey regiments. 



688 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER XAVIGATIOJ?. 




Captain Isaac M. Mason 



was born in Brownsville, Penn., March 4th, 1831 — commenced 
steamboating on the steamer Consul as second clerk in 1846 — 
was clerk of'the Atlantic in 1848-9. In 1850, at the age of 19 
years, took charge of steamer Summit, and ran her in the 
Louisville and Nashville trades. 

The next fourteen years was acting as captain or clerk on the 
following boats: Editor, Australia, Honduras, Alma, Bell 
Golden, Vixen, Denmark, Fred Lorenz, Savanna, and Hawk- 
eye State. 

First trip to St. Louis was on the steamer Summit, in 
April, 1851. Continued in active service until 1865, when he 
was made general freight aoent of the Northern Line Packet 
Company, which position he retained for eleven years. 

He was elected Marshal of the County of St. Louis, 1876, 
and in 1880 and 1882 Sheriff of the City of St. Louis. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 689 

Although temporarily disengaged from the river, always 
maintained his interest in all that related to its improvement 
and to water transportation. 

In 1884 he was appointed superintendent of the Anchor 
Line of boats between St. Louis and New Orleans, and presi- 
dent of the same in 1888. 

All who know Captain Mason appreciate him for his moral 
worth, his integrity, his suavity and the courtesy with which 
all are treated who have occasion to meet him. 



Captain Morgan Mason. 

Alexandria, Mo., 1889. 
I 

Capt. E. W. Gould, St. Louis: 

Dear Sir — In reply to your inquiry as to my steamboat 
experience, I respond briefly, as follows: — 

My first introduction was in 1837, as first clerk on steamer 
Kentucky. She belonged to the " Good Intent Line," which 
had its principal office in Pittsburgh. We made our first trips 
between Pittsburgh and Louisville, afterwards extended them 
to Nashville and St. Louis. 

We had a large number of emigrants, composed principally 
of Kentucky planters, going to the "Piatt Purchase" with 
their slaves, to engage in raising hemp. At that time St. 
Louis was a small city, and extended but little west of Fourth 
street. 

My next experience was on the Monongahela River, in 
1843, on the steamer Consul, Captain Saml. Clark, 

In November of that year the " slack water improvement " 
was completed to Brownsville, and Gen. I. K. Moorhead, with 
a large party of citizens from Pittsburgh, made an excursion 
to Brownsville, returning next day on the Consul. 

I remained on the Consul as captain and clerk until she was 
worn out. Then I went on the Atlantic w'ith Capt. Parkinson. 
After he retired I took command of her and remained until 
she was worn out. Then Ave built the Jefferson, and I run 
her three years. I was also on the Resolute until she was 
sold to parties at Madison. 

My connection with river navigation continued for eleven 
years. 

Wishing you much success in your very worthy enterprise, 
I remain truly yours, 

Morgan Mason. 

44 



690 Gould's history of river navigatiox 




Charles C. Keener. 



The subject of this sketch is the principal representative of 
all that remains of the once famous Naples Packet Co. — 
one of the first organized steamboat companies on the Missis- 
sippi River. 

After a varied experience of forty years the old company 
finally succumbed in 1887, and its eflfects were purchased by 
a new company, known as the St. Louis, Naples and Peoria 
Packet Co. 

The old and well known Grain and Commission Merchants, 
T. and F. Keener, of Naples, had long been stockholders in 
the company, and through that connection the new company 
with Captain C. C. Keener, the son of the surviving partner 



BIDGRAPHICAL. 691 

of the old firm became the principal proprietor of the new 
organization, and was elected its president. 

Having served a long apprenticeship in the grain and ship- 
ping business, and having a taste for navigation, he decided to 
extend the knowledge he had acquired from his experience in 
the management of a fine steam tug-boat, which he built for 
his own pleasure and convenience, he assumed command of 
the Steamer Calhoun and has devoted his personal atten- 
tion to the management of the new company since its organi- 
zation. 

Although not a veteran in the service, the eminent success 
that has attended his efforts in navigation and in the fine con- 
dition in which he keeps his boats show conclusively that age 
and experience are not the only requisites to success. 

The unlimited means and the large operations in grain of 
his firm, " Keener & Pike," secure to their boats a large bus- 
iness independent of shipments from others. 

If the Government continues its appropriations even in 
small sums it will ultimately succeed in so improving the 
navigation of the Illinois River that what has for the last ten 
years seemed a foregone conclusion, may yet be recovered 
and the river again become an. important factor in the com- 
merce of that productive valley. Of all the tributaries of 
the Mississippi there is none so easily and cheaply made navi- 
gable for a good class of boats lor nine months in the vear as 
this stream, and had the demands of its commerce been heeded 
by the Government long years ago and the necessary improve- 
ments been made and railroad bridges properly constructed, a 
far different result would have been manifest. The towns and 
cities that were springing up all along its banks, would have 
continued to flourish, by the stimulating influences incident to 
shipping and receiving large consignments to and from the 
interior. 

The lands along the bottoms would have continued to be 
cleared and cultivated, levees would have been built, and over- 
flowed lands recovered, the most productive in the State, 
adding health and prosperity the whole length of the river. 

Captain Keener is young, vigorous and enterprising, and 
wdiat his predecessors have failed to realize may yet become a 
bonanza to him, and a great blessing to the inhabitants of that 
long neglected valley. 



692 



Gould's history of river navigation. 




BIOGRAPHICAL. 



693 




Captain Joseph S. Nanson 



was born at Fayette, Howard County, Missouri, 22d of Jan- 
uary, 1827. 

His first adventure as a steamboat man was on the steamer 
Banner State, which he purchased in 1857 for the St. Louis 
and Glasgow trade. 

On the third trip the boat sunk and was a total loss. 

Nothing daunted he left his home at Glasgow, where he 
was engaged in the commission business with the late Theo. 
Bartholow, and went to St. Louis and purchased the steamer, 
which he ran in the same trade for one year. At the expira- 
tion of that time he sold his interest, and in company with 
his confidential friend and partner, Moses Hillard, went to 
Louisville and built the steamer N. J. Eaton. 

This boat sunk in the Missouri on her first trip and was a 
total loss. 



694 Gould's history of river navigation. 

This disaster well nigh bankrupted the owners. But through 
the assistance of strong friends at Glasgow^ he again repaired 
to Louisville and built the steamer Kate Howard, which he 
ran with great success for three seasons between St. Louis 
and St. Joseph, on the Missouri River. At the end of this 
period, or in 1859, the Kate Howard sunk, after having hand- 
somely remunerated her owners for their investment. 

At the close of her career, Capt. Nanson and his crew went 
on board the John D. Perry, where he remained until the close 
of that season. 

In the spring of 1860 he formed a co-partnership with Lo- 
gan D. Damoran, and opened a commission house at St. Louis 
under the name of Nanson, Damoran & Co., which did a 
successful business. 

In 1864-5 Capt. Nanson, Henry Ames and Miles Sells pur- 
chased the steamer Shreveport, and took her to Red River to 
embark in cotton speculations under the care and protection 
of General Banks military expedition to that river. But at 
Alexandria the expedition was repulsed and compelled to re- 
turn . 

The result was that all the cotton that had been purchased, 
together with several boats, was destroyed by the Confeder- 
ates, and the expedition,, as well as the cotton speculations, 
was declared a failure. 

In addition to Captain Nanson's commission business in St. 
Louis, New Orleans and New York which was large and at- 
tended with varied success, he was elected President in 1868 
of the St. Louis and Omaha Packet Company, which was com- 
posed of nine first-class boats and extensively known as the 
«' O Line." 

In consequence of the great demand upon his time b}^ the 
commercial transactions in which his house was engaged, in 
1869 he resigned his position as President of the Packet 
Com pan}'. 

As an evidence of the appreciation in which his services 
were held, the ow^ners of the line presented him with an ele- 
gant carriage costing $1,000. 

He was at one time director and owner in the Memphis 
Packet Company, and an owner in steamers Sultana, In- 
gomar, Kate Kinney, Wm. J. Lewis and other boats. 

In 1872-3 he organized and acted as president of a short 
line of boats to run between Atcherson and Nebraska City, 
known as the Railroad Line, which connected with the Mis- 
souri Pacific at Atcheson ; also another line from St. Joseph 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 695 

to Nebraska City, which was known as the Missouri, Kansas 
and Nebraska Line. 

These later connections were more especially designed to 
afford shippers in that country facilities for reaching the St. 
Louis market, which they formerly enjoyed via water, but 
were now deprived of in consequence of the completion of 
several railroads across the country to Chicago and the East. 

But low water and ice soon demonstrated the impossibility 
of that competition and the boats were soon retired, never 
more to return to so unequal a contest. 

Later, or in 1879, Captain Nanson, in company with Messrs. 
Pegram and Hillard purchased the Laclede Hotel in St. Louis, 
and after a successful year or two in that enterprize, disposed 
of his interest and embarked with Messrs. Hillard, Buzard 
and Barnard in the purchase of a stock farm in Tevolla 
County, Texas, which has under iron fence 80,000 acres of 
land. The name of the firm at the present time is Buzard, 
Hillard and Barnard. They are feeding 50,000 head of 
cattle and devoting much care to the improvement of their 
breeds and to milch cows. 

Captain Nanson was married in 1855 to Miss Belle Billingsly, 
of Glasgow, Mo., who still lives to cheer him on in his active 
and enterprizing career of usefulness and social life — to- 
gether with two cultured daughters who are happily united in 
marriage with gentlemen in fine positions in society, and of 
high character. 

John W. Bryant 

was born in New Orleans, La., in 1841. From 1857 to the 
breakino; out of the war was a discharging clerk on the levee. 
Discharged the cargo of the Magnolia, 6537 bales — the largest 
cotton trip of ante bellum days, served through the war, on 
the Confederate side. Was one of the besieged in Port Hudson, 
serving as acting assistant quartermaster on the staff of Col. 
W.^R. Miles, in command of the right wing of the defenses. 
Was paroled in 1865 at West Point, Ga., returned to New 
Orleans, and again became a discharging clerk. Was also a 
clerk in the Red River and other trades and cashier of the 
New Orleans Post-office. In 1874 was employed as a river 
reporter and is now filling that position on the New Orleans 
Time s- Democrat . Li 1885 was made secretar}^ of the Execu- 
tive Committee on the Improvement of the Western Water- 
ways. Was also the assistant secretary of the Kansas City, 
New Orleans, Washington, D. C, and Memphis River Im- 



696 



Gould's history of eiver navigation. 



provement Conventions. Served also on all of the commit- 
tees appearing before the River's and Harbor's Committee 
of Congress to present the resolutions of conventions and urge 
appropriations. Was charged with the duty of presenting to 
President Cleveland a copy of the resolutions adopted by "the 




John w. Bryant. 

Memphis Convention. Is also secretary of the National 
Board of Steam Navigation and has, with others, been a 
prominent worker for the Board at Washington in the depart- 
ments and before committees of the Senate and House, in se- 
curing modifications of, or preventing the adoption of statutes 
that were to the injury of the steam interests. 

Is a Mason and an active worker in several benevolent or- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 697 

ganizatioDS, of one of which he is the president. Was chosen 
to represent the steamboat interests before the interstate com- 
merce commission durinsj their sittings at New Orleans, Mem- 
phis, and Washington. 

The original of this fine picture, and the author of the fore- 
going sketch, has for several years been a representative in all 
prominent efforts and organizations for the promotion of loater 
transportation in the Mississippi Valley, and for the protec- 
tion and advancement of water transportation throughout the 
country. 

The Southern interests that he has so long and so ably rep- 
resented could not have confided their interests to a more 
competent or faithful representative. His efforts in numer- 
ous conventions, in the National Board of Steam Navigation, 
before committees of Congress, and with individual members, 
have been phenomenal. None but those w'ho have had the 
privilege of being associated with him in similar efforts can 
appreciate the value of his labor. 

His untiring energy and familiarity with all subjects con- 
nected with river navigation render his services and his ex- 
perience invaluable to his constituents, and whenever they are 
in position to elect a member to represent their interest in 
Congress they cannot select a more competent or faithful rep- 
resentative. And why are they not always in position to do 
so? No interest in America of half the importance that the 
water transportation interests are, but what have not only one, 
but many, direct and indirect members in Congress to rep- 
resent them. 

If ever this great and important interest has had an expo- 
nent, a representative in Congress to protect, and to advance its 
interests, there is no record of it. 

Is it surprising the interest languishes? While its great 
competitor, its opponent, has many members in both branches 
of Congress, and on all special occasions a full quorum in the 
"third house." 

Who so competent to legislate as those who are entirely 
familiar with all the facts, and who more familiar and compe- 
tent to judge of them fairly and impartially than John W. 
Bryant ? 

Through his kindness and industry this writer is indebted 
for many interesting items selected from old papers, books, 
&c., which will be read and enjoyed by all. And for which 
he desires in this connection to return many thanks. 



698 



Gould's history of river navigation. 




Captain B. R. Pegram. 



CoHASSET, Mass., January, 22d, 1889. 

OajH. E. W. Gould, St. Louis, Mo. : 

Dear Sir: — In answer to your suggestion, I may say I 
am glad of the opportunity of putting myself on record with 
so many old friends as I am sure will avail themselves of the 
privilege your very laudable enterprise will afford them. 

While my river experience was of shorter duration than 
that of many of my esteemed cotemporaries, it was an event- 
ful one, and largely diversified. 

Commencing on the Illinois River at the age of fifteen, as 
a ferry-man, with a horse-boat at the mouth of Apple creek ; 
advancing from that to a pilot of a wood-boat engaged in 
boating wood to St. Louis for the next few years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 699 

My fiither removed from Virginia, where I was born in 1828, 
and settled in Carrollton, Illinois, where he had an extensive 
practice as a physician. He died when I was eleven years old, 
and the family removed to Newport, on the Illinois River, 
from whence I grraduated, althousrh with but little education. 
I vibrated between the river and a farm in that neighbor- 
hood until 1849. 

My first practical stearaboating was on the steamboat Ruth, 
in the winter of 1862 and '63. In August of '63 she was 
burned, it was believed, by an incendiary rebel w^iile laying 
at Norfolk, six miles below Cairo. She had a large number 
of people on board, and three millions of government green- 
backs, which were destroyed, and some thirty-five lives. 

The Ruth was a new boat, came out in the spring of that 
year and cost $65,000. She was 275 feet long, 41 feet beam, 
8 feet hold. Her eno^ines came out of the Peter Tellon and 
were 27 inches diameter and 9 feet stroke, with five 26 feet 
boilers 44 inches diameter. She was among the first boats 
burned after the breaking out of the war, and there was good 
reason for believing it was done by the rebels. 

The second Ruth built a few years later, was 300 feet long, 
48 feet beam, 10 feet hold. She had the engines of the H. 
R. W. Hill which were 30 inches, 10 feet stroke. Boiler (6), 
were 46 inches, 30 feet long. She cost $200,000 and was 
very fast and an immense carrier, and an elegant cabin. She 
was burned in 1868, at Pawpa Island ; no lives lost. 

After the burning of the first Ruth, I was in command ot 
several boats, viz.: Olive Branch, Ida Handy, Clara Dolson, 
Lady Gay, and second Ruth. After the organization of the 
Atlantic & Mississippi Steamship Co., I was for 18 months 
acting as its ao-ent in New Orleans. 

After the collapse of that company, my brother George 
and myself built the James Howard, and I commanded her 
eight years. Sold her 1878, and retired from the river. 

Wishing you merited success in the very difficult under- 
taking in which you have embarked, I remain, very truly yours, 

B. R. Pegram. 



700 Gould's history of river navigation 




Henry C. Haarstick. 



(Communicated.) 

The salient points in the history of this sketch furnish a 
most remarkable example of what large results can be accom- 
plished in the business world by the unaided, intelligent and 
indefatigable efforts of a single humble citizen, when directed 
towards a definite object. 

Henry C. Haarstick, the President of the St. Louis & Miss- 
issippi Valley Transportation Company (Barge Line), was 
born in 1836 at Hohenhameln, near Hildesheim, in the King- 
dom of Hanover, and emigrated to America with his parents 
when but 13 years old ; the passage was a long one — being 
by sailing vessel from Hamburg to New York, and consuming 
49 days; the destination of the family was St. Louis, and the 
route then lay as follows: from New York by steamer to Al- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 701 

bany ; thence by canal to Buffalo ; thence by steamer to San- 
dusky, Ohio; thence by rail to Cincinnati and thence by 
steamer to St. Louis. 

The young emigrant arrived at his destination on the 25th 
of July, 1849 — a year memorable for the great fire and the 
cholera which then visited the city. 

After a few years of diligent application to studv, 3'oung 
Haarstick began his business career in February, 1853, as clerk 
with the distilling firm of Malon}'^ & Tilton, passing ten years in 
their employ and becoming their successor by purchase in 18G3. 
In 1867 he relinquished this business to Messrs. Card & Law- 
rence, and the following year, having his attention drawn to the 
possibilities of success in the business done on the river, he pur- 
chased stock in the Mississippi Valley Transportation Co.'s 
barge line, and directing his closest personal efforts toward 
extricating the company from embarrassments which threat- 
ened its extinction, he had the satisfaction ere lone: of seeino^ 
its business placed upon a firm and sure foundation. 

In 1869 he was elected a director and vice-president of the 
company, and, upon the death of Supt. Greenleaf in March 
of that year, Mr. Haarstick was made general manager and 
conducted the business thenceforward with signal success until 
1881, during which year the entire property of the company 
was sold to the St. Louis & Mississippi Valley Transportation 
Co., a new and powerful organization with $2,000,000 
cash cai)ital, formed for the purpose of absorbing the four 
barjre lines then existinjj. 

This new combination has been operated as a unit since its 
establishment, under the presidency and direct personal man- 
agement of Mr. Haarstick, and it goes without saying that it 
has exerted a most potent influence for good, not only upon 
the business done on Western Avaters, but upon the entire 
grain producing area of the Mississippi Valley. 

Recognizing the benefits of cheap transportation to the 
growers of our cereals, and that eftbrts in this direction must 
necessarily develop St. Louis as a market for European bu}^- 
ers. The most patient and persistent efforts were put forth to 
build up and finally establish a line of grain carriers on the 
river which should form a connecting link between the Amer- 
ican farmer and the European consumer. 

It need only be said by way of illustration that, during the 
period of these efforts the river rate on bulk grain has been 
reduced from 12 and 14 cents per bushel to 5 cents per bushel ; 
every cent of the difierence inuring directly to the benefit of 
the farmers of this country and agori-eo-atino: millions of dol- 



702 



Gould's history of river navigation. 




H 

« 
I— I 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 703 

ars Id their annual savings. Second only to this achievement 
have been Mr. Haarstick's efforts toward the stimulation of 
the direct importation of foreign commodities via New Orleans. 
He was the first to furnish the merchants of the interior with 
a bonded water route for imported goods, and his line has 
carried vast quantities of this description of freight without 
the loss of a single package, and without a complaint from, 
the Government. 

The resources of the St. L. & M. V. T. Co., embrace 12 
powerful steamers, nearly 100 grain barges, (each of a ca- 
pacity of 50,000 bushels), large and convenient stationary 
grain elevators at Belmont, Mo., and New Orleans, La., a 
well equipped Marine Railway and dockyard at Mound City, 
III., besides the necessarv floating elevators for transferring 
bulk grain from barges into ocean vessels at New Orleans. 
The company is carrying about 12,000,000 bushels of grain 
annually besides about 150,000 tons of package freight. 

Mr Haarstick is in the prime of life and vigorous manhood, 
and actively engaged in the management of the great corpor- 
ation of which he is president. He is an ardent advocate and 
active supporter of all public improvements; has been presi- 
dent of the Merchants' Exchange during one of its most 
prosperous years, and is recognized in commercial circles as 
one of the most sagacious, far-seeing, progressive and influ- 
ential citizens of St. Louis. His kindly, conservative manner, 
his unostentatious charities, his consideration for his business 
associates and competitors and his retiring modesty, all war- 
rant the hope that so useful a life may be greatly prolonged. 



JoHx G. Prather 

was born in Clermont County, Ohio, June 16th, 1834, His peo- 
ple were connected with the river and river interests from the 
earliest steamboating on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. At 
an unusually early age he cast his lot with that interest, occu- 
pying almost every position from the deck to the roof. Com- 
ing to St. Louis in 1850, and following the river in various 
capacities until 1852, when he went to California — returning 
in 1855. He associated himself with the late Daniel G. Tay- 
lor (his uncle) in the wholesale liquor business on the levee, 
where he still holds forth at the old stand, 516 N. Levee. His 
connection with the river continuing up to the present time. 
Was owner in whole or part of many steamers during this 
time, notably the steamers Des Moines, Bart Able, E. F. Dix, 



704 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



Fannie Tatum, Westerner and others ; has been twenty years 
associated with the famous Anchor Line ; is now a director of 
that line; was a staunch Union man during the war; served as 
Lieutenant-Colone] of 5th Regiment Missouri Militia, and as- 
sisted in the organization of that regiment, is a Democrat and 
has taken an active and prominent" part in the councils of the 




John G. Prather. 
Democracy of Missouri ; is a member of the National Demo- 
cratic Committee ; serving his third term in that capacity. Col. 
Prather's establishment is now the oldest on the Levee. His 
recollection of the primary days of boating in the Missouri, 
Upper Mississippi, Illinois, and Lower Mississippi Rivers would 
make an interesting history. Col. P. is vigorous and according 
to himself, feels as young as ever and expects to live to see 
Democracy vindicated by the rational success in '92. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



705 




Capt. O. p. Shinkle. 



Cincinnati, Feb. 14, 1889. 

Captain E. W . Gould, St. Louis, Mo.: 

Inclosed I send a photo of myself for insertion in the work 
you are preparing on the history of navigation of Western 
waters. 

Appreciating your object, I desire to contribute as far as my 
experience goes whatever of interest it may possess. 

I was born in Brown County, Ohio, August 31st, 1834, in 
the town of Higginsport. 

45 



706 Gould's history of river navigation. 

I commenced my steamboat life in 1850 at the age of six- 
teen. In 1854, at the age of twenty, was phiced in command 
of a tow-boat, and continued building and navigatino^ steam- 
boats from 1850 to the present time, with the exception of 
two years. 

During this period I have built three steamboats, have been 
interested in eight and commanded them all at different 
periods on different rivers, viz.: Mississippi, Ohio, Cumber- 
land, Tennessee, Arkansas and White Rivers, but principally 
on the Ohio and Mississippi. 

I am at present running the steamer Golden Rule, from 
Cincinnati to New Orleans, where I have been eno-ased for 
several years past. 

While the business is not what it once was, it still continues 
to pay such boats as are adapted to the trade and judiciously 
managed a small margin of profit. Although the time for ex- 
pensive passenger boats in this trade seems to have passed, at 
least until the navigation shall have been further improved. 

Trusting you will meet with success in your very laudable 
effort, I remain. 

Yours truly, 

O. P. Shinkle. 



Captain John P. Keiser, 

son of Captain Jno. W. Keiser, was born in Boone County, 
Missouri, 1833. 

He, after receiving a good English education, concluded to 
follow in the footsteps of his father, and embarked on the 
river with Capt. Henry W. Smith on the steamer J. M. 
Clendenin in 1852, for the purpose of learning to be a pilot. 
In 1853 he was with Capt. Wm. B. Miller on the steamer Isa- 
bel. He obtained a license the same year, and his first pilot- 
ing was in the fall of '53, on the government snao;-boats. In 
1854 he was engaged to pilot the N. J. Eaton, Capt. Joseph 
Nanson. The boat only made two trips and then sunk. The 
remainder of the season was pilot on the steamers Clara and 
Sam Cloon. 

In 1856 he was engaged in piloting in the Lightning Line 
from Jefferson City to Western Missouri, on the steamer Cat- 
aract ; salary $1,000 per month. 

In 1857 he was master and pilot of the Cataract, in the 
same line; salary, $1,250 per month. 

In 1858 he bought an interest in the Isabella, and was mas- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



707 



ter and pilot of her until 1861. After the war broke out he 
sold her to Capt. Dozier & McPherson. 

In 1862 he built the Esteller at Pittsburgh, which was lost 
by fire at the St. Louis wharf. 

The same year he built the Majestic, a large Lower Missis- 
sippi River steamer. She was lost by fire at Island No. 8, 




Captain John P. Reiser. 

May 6th, 1863. He soon afterwards bought the Fannie Og- 
den, and sold her in February, 1864. The same year he 
built the Waverly for Missouri River, and a steam ferry-boat 
for Rocheport. 

In 1865 he built the G. B. Allen for the Missouri River. 
The Waverly was sunk in 1866, and the Allen burned at St. 
Louis, March, '67. 

He then retired from the river and went into the commission 
and storage business with his brother. The firm was J. P. & 
C. W. Keiser. Capt. James B. Eads was then building the 



708 Gould's history of river navigation. 

St. Louis bridge, and needed some one to purchase supplies 
and construct the boats to be used for laying stone in the piers, 
etc. Capt. Reiser was selected for the work. He served in 
that capacity for twelve months and resigned. Shortly after- 
wards he was made superintendent and general manager of 
the Carondelet docks, then doing a large business, and was with 
that company about twelve months when he resigned to take 
charge of as general superintendent of the Memphis and St. 
Louis Packet Company, and was superintendent and general 
manager of that company for 13 years, having built in the 
meantime $1,250,000 of steamboat property, viz. : steamer 
Grand Tower, City of Helena, Belle Memphis, Ste. Genevieve, 
Baton Rouge, Bayou Sara, Arkansas City, City of Vicks- 
burg. City of Chester, City of Cairo, City of New Orleans, 
City of St. Louis, City of Greenville ; rebuilt James Howard. 

Bought for said company: Capitol City, Emma C. Elliott, 
John B. Mande, W. T. Halliday, Will S. Hays, Illinois, Com- 
monwealth, City of Alton, Annie P. Silver, Gold Dust. Built 
Package Elevator at Memphis, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mis- 
sissippi. 

In 1882 Capt. Scudder resigned his position as President of 
this company and Capt. Reiser was duly elected President and 
under his administration the St. Louis and Vicksburg Packet 
Company was consolidated into the New Orleans Anchor Line, 
and capitalized at $1,500,000. In December, 1884, he re- 
signed his position of President and sold his steamboat stock. 
He was at this time a large holder of gas stock in the Laclede 
Gas Company of St. Louis, and was made President of the 
Company immediately on his resignation of the Presidency of 
the Anchor Line, w^here he no'w is, enjoying good health and 
the earnings of his successful career as a boatman for thirty 
years, having handled successfully as much, or more, steam- 
boat property as any one man in the West. 



L. M. Chipley. 

St. Louis, Mo., 4th, 11th, 1889. 
Capt. E. W. Gould: — 

I herewith hand you a photo of the first steamer Post 
Boy built under vour supervision, for the Illinois River trade 
(Naples Packet Co.) in 1859. The Post Boy as you will 
remember proved to be a very fast boat for her power. The 
average time made by this steamer from St. Louis was two 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



709 



hours and live minutes to Alton, and twelve hours to Naples, 
including stops for freight and passengers. Hugh Thomas, 
agent at Florence, always claimed that the clock in his office 




was the correct time, as he regulated it by the arrival of the 
Post Poy at the landing, as she was always there at 3 a. m. 
without fail every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mo-rning. 
My first experience as a river man was on this boat in capacity 



710 Gould's history of river navigation. 

of second clerk and I thought that I had reached the highest 
pinnacle in the ladder of fame when I was appointed by jou to 
the position of an officer on this steamboat. At that date, to 
be an officer on a fine steamer was the height of ambition with 
all young men living near the river, and even to this day there 
is an air of importance about a steamboat officer on duty that 
commands the admiration and respect of many passengers 
that travel on boats. 

The Post Boy was in the government service during the 
war and was selected as dispatch boat for the fleet at Vicks- 
burg during the siege, and also dispatch boat of the fleet at the 
siege and capture of Arkansaw rost, and served in same ca- 
pacity on White River at Clarendon and Duvolls Bluff and re- 
turned to Saint Louis in the fall of 1863 and was destroyed by 
fire along with the steamers Jesse K. Bell, Hiawatha and last, 
but not least, the Steamer Imperial, the queen of all, and the 
fastest and finest steamboat that ever run in the St. Louis and 
New Orleans trade. This boat was also built by you. 

The officers of the Post Boy were Jas. Abrams, Master; 
O. S. Watt and L. M. Chipley, Clerks; Enoch P. King 
and T. B. Chipley, Pilots ; Wash McCann and Wm. 
Mitchell, Engineers; Hugh Davis and Hosey Densmore, 
Mates; Feilding Corbin, Steward. I often wonder how it is 
that boatmen did not become connected with railroading, that 
superseded the boats as the carriers of the commerce of the 
West, as they were more familiar with the details of the 
freighting business than strangers could possibly be. The 
only reason or explanation I can offer is that they did not 
look on a four-foot railroad track, equipped with a forty-foot 
box car as a competitor worth considering in comparison with 
a two thousand ton steamer with a free river three thousand 
miles long and a mile wide. But others saw the opportunity, 
and built, as it were, a fence of railroad iron around the rivers 
and abided their time for steamboats to be starved out of the 
business that had taken a lifetime to build up at the expense of 
millions of dollars to their owners who had not kept pace with 
times that demanded rapid transit for freight and passengers, 
a want that railroads filled to perfection. 

Yours truly, 

L. M. Chipley. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



711 




712 Gould's history of river navigation. 



Captain William F. Davidson, 

long and favorably known in connection with the steamboat 
business of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. For a 
number of years he resided in St. Louis and was president 
and active manager of different steamboat lines, most notably 
The Northwestern Union Packet Company, and The Keokuk- 
Northern Line Packet Company. 

His early career in steamboating began on the Ohio River, 
but his life's work extended over an area of the entire Missis- 
sippi Valley, and there is hardly a man who has been con- 
nected with the river interests of the valley during the past 
half century, who has obtained more prominence, or been 
better known than the late Commodore Davidson. 

He was born at South Point, Lawrence County, Ohio, Feb- 
ruary 4th, 1825. His father — William W. Davidson — was 
a pioneer in that part of Ohio, and was very well known 
throughout the southern part of the State, Eastern Kentucky 
and West Virginia. 

The subject of this sketch began his steamboat career when 
but a small boy by boating on the Big Sandy River, the Ohio 
River, the Sciota, and other tributaries of the Ohio. He accom- 
panied his father, who did something in that line in the early 
days of boating along the Ohio and Sciota Rivers." When quitea 
young man he became interested as part owner in the steamboat 
Gondola; also, The Relief, and later on, The United 
States Aid, The Jacob Traber, The Frank Steel, Favorite, 
and other boats. 

He married in Southern Ohio, in the winter of 1858-59, a 
daughter of Judge Benjamin Johnson, who survives him. He 
also leaves surviving him a son — Mr. Edward E. Davidson — 
of St. Paul, and a daughter — Miss Sallie Davidson — who 
makes her home with the mother in Southern Ohio. 

Commodore Davidson visited St. Paul and the Upper Mis- 
sissippi in 1855, and subsequently removed to St. Paul, and 
began steamboatino; on a laro;e scale between LaCrosse and St. 
Paul. This business steadily increased until his line was 
•xtended from St, Paul to St. Louis, and his business became 
so large in the line of boating and transportation that in the 
spring of 1870 he found it desirable to reside in St. Louis, 
and so removed his family to that point, making it his home 
until about the year 1882. He was also very much interested 
in real estate in the city of St. Paul, which he held on to with 
great persistence, steadily improving it and building business 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



713 



blocks and structures thereon, up to the time of his death, 
which occurred at St. Paul on May 26th, 1887. 

Durino- his residence in St. Louis he was converted, and 
thereaftei- became an active worker in temperance and religious 
reforms. Perhaps the best work he did in this line was during 
his presidency of the St. Louis Bethel Association, where he was 




Captain William F. Davidson. 

the most active business manager in its financial interests. 
He was later also identified with the St. Paul Bethel Associa- 
tion, and was an officer of that organization at the time of his 
death. 

After he became interested in religious work he abolished 
bars from the steamboats which he controlled, and did a great 
deal of personal work to reform the employes on the river 



714 Gould's history of river navigation. 

from iuteniperaiue and immorality. He personally assisted 
and aided multitudes of men whom he had once employed, or 
in whom he had become interested while boating on the Mis- 
sissippi River. 

He was a very hard worker, giving his personal attention to 
all the details of his business up to a few days before his death. 
He led a very busy life, and never took time for pleasure, or 
the ordinary amusements which engross the attention of most 
men situated as he was financially. 

His estate at the time of his death was quite large, and 
consisted mostly of real estate and business property well lo- 
cated in the heart of St. Paul. Much of this real estate was 
purchased as early as 1864 or 1865, and certainly prior to 
1870, and had ^increased and multiplied in value so that it 
left a handsome fortune to his heirs. 

He was identified with so many business enterprises of St. 
Paul that he was greatly missed from the community which 
he had done so much to build up and render prosperous by 
undertakings which he had inaugurated and pushed to success. 
Many of the business men of St. Louis, and other cities in the 
Mississippi Valley, will long remember him as a pleasant bus- 
iness acquaintance. An active, pushing man of business, he 
was always ready to do his share in bringing to a successful 
issue enterprises with which he became connected. 

Like many of his associates — who have passed over to the 
majority during the last ten years — he is lying quietly at 
rest in Oakland Cemetery in the city of St. Paul. 



Captain C. W. Batchelor. 

Captain Chas. W. Batchelor was born in Steubeuville, O., 
in 1823, and received his early education at private schools in 
his native town. His father was Jos. S. Batchelor, who 
moved from Philadelphia to Steubeuville, in 1810, and engaged 
in the manufacture of furniture. In 1841, Captain Batchelor 
apprenticed himself to Captain Henry Mason, of Wheeling, 
on steamer Tioga, to learn to be a pilot. In 1845 he became 
a full pilot, and in 1849 he bought the interest of Captain 
John Klinefelter in the steamer Hibernia, No. 2, of Pitts- 
burgh and Cincinnati Packet Line,, and assumed command. 
In 1853, he took command of the famous Alleghany in the 
same line. In 1854, he sold his interest in the Alleghany, and 
built the Americus for the Pittsburgh and Nashville trade. 
In 1855 the Americus burned, and he left the river to become 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



715 



the active Vice-President of the Eureka Insurance Company, 
of Pittsburgh, and acted as the o;eneral agent in settling: ma- 
rine losses. In 1861 he was appointed, by President Lincoln, 
as surveyor of the Port and United States Depository at Pitts- 
burgh, where he remained until September, 1866, when he 
was removed by President Johnson, because he would not be- 




come a Johnson man. During his connection with the latter 
office, he disbursed over one hundred million dollars, and 
wound up with the Government in his debt. In 1867, he be- 
came president of the Eagle Cotton Mills Company, of Pitts- 
burgh, where he continued until 1873. In 1868 he was made 
president of the Masonic Bank of Pittsburgh, where he con- 
tinued until 1884, when he resigned, to become acting Vice- 
president of the Keystone Bank, and president of the Pitts- 



716 Gould's history of river navigation. 

burgh Petroleum Exchange. He coutinues his connection 
with the Keystone Bank, but resigned the presidency of the 
Oil Exchange. He is now the president of the Natural Gas 
Company of West Virginia, furnishing gas to the city of 
Wheeling, and secretary and treasurer of the Natural Gas 
Company, Limited, of Pittsburgh, the first gas company that 
ever handled natural gas for manufacturing purposes, which 
was in 1875, and president of the Manufacturers and Merchants 
Insurance Company of Pittsburgh. During his steamboat ca- 
reer, he owned in and built the most of the following steam- 
ers: Hibernia No. 2, Alleghany, Americus, W. I. Maclay, 
Eunice, Lucy Gwin, Paragon, Mary E. Forsyth, Geo. W. 
Graham, W. R. Arthur, Emma Duncan, Darling, Norman, 
Guidon, F. Y. Batchelor, and the Lac La Bell, of Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

In 1885 he Avas made Chairman of the Committee of Ar 
rangements and Commodore of the Fleet, for the celebration 
of the opening of Davis Island Dam, at Pittsburgh. 

Captain Batchelor has been a prominent Mason for years, 
he having received the highest degree that can be conferred, 
and past Grand Commander, of the Grand Commandery of 
Knights Templar, of Pennsylvania. 



Louisville, Ky., June 20, 1889. 

Capt. E. W. Gould, 1620 S. Grand Avenue, St. 

Louis, Mo.: — 

Dear Sir — I have been away from home a great deal since 
I received your favor of April 23d, and have neglected to send 
you biographies of the lives of Capt. Swagar and Capt. 
Sherley. Inclosed I send you a copy taken from the " Ohio 
Falls Cities and their Counties," which I trust will be in 
time; when your history is published I would be glad to have 
some copies of it. Yours truly, 

T. H. Sherley. 

Capt. Z. M. Sherley. 

"This distinguished citizen of Kentucky was born in Vir- 
ginia, in Louisa County, May 7th, 1811. He was removed 
to Kentucky at a very early period of his childhood, and had 
for a number of years to battle with the exactions of poverty. 
He was one of a pair of twins ; his twin brother, Thomas 
Sherley, early embarked in the stock business, and while en- 
gaged in transporting cattle to a Southern market, was 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



717 



drowned in the Mississippi Eiver. The resemblance of the 
S was so perfect that when Z. M. Sherley approached 

he house to inform the widow of the catastrophe she was 
confident that it was her husband. During a tr.p up the nver 

„°T832 the steamboat was hailed by a flat-boat on its way to 
New Orleans with produce, with a request to take the sicfc 
captain aboard and return him to his family at Portland. To 




C.£PTAIN 



SHBRLEY. 



the horror of the captain and crew of the steamboat they dis- 
covered th°t he mln was ill with cholera ; at that time this 
wT supposed to be contagious and the sick man »as fastened 
up in a room to battle with death by h'mself. All stood 
a oof from him. In hunting some needed »'' '^^' f»P "^ 
Sherlev a passenger on the boat, remembered that it was in 
the Si of the sfck man, and he went into t with great fear 
and trembling, in search of the missing implement, intending 



718 Gould's history or river navigation. 

to beat a very hurried retreat. The dying man spoke to 
him informing him that he had a wife and little boy at Port- 
land whom he hoped to see before death terminated his suffer- 
ings. Captain Sherley could not leave the dying man, but 
remained by him until he died, ministering to his comfort 
and wants. He besought Captain Sherley to watch over the 
youthful life of his young son. When the boat reached 
Portland the captain went to the house of the dead man to 
convey the mournful tidings of the death. He found the 
widow was the daughter of John Tarascon, a gentleman who 
had acquired a great celebrity in his struggles in behalf of the 
prosperity of Louisville. He was a man of great enterprise. 

In due course of time Captain Sherley married the widow 
of Captain Taylor, and commenced his career as a business 
man. His wife bore him two sons, when she died with con- 
sumption. She was one of the loveliest of her sex. She left 
the captain with four children to provide for, a son and 
daughter by Mr. Taylor, and two sons by Captain Sherley. 
No one was ever able to see any discrimination in his care 
of these children. They were well educated and the boys 
were trained to business pursuits, in which they prospered. 

Captain Sherley engaged for a short time in the pork house 
business but retired from it retaining his interest in the prop- 
erty. He successfully run for some time a boat store, thus 
paving the way for that which was to be the master business 
of his life — the management of lines of transportation. No 
man was ever more gifted for any enterprise than he was for 
this great department. He became a prominent owner in the 
mail line between Louisville and Cincinnati, and his singular 
capacity for this great public interest was manifested conspic- 
uously in every feature of its management. He was known 
throughout the country by his great success with everything 
of this kind with which he was connected. He owned an in- 
terest also in the line of packets running from Louisville to 
Evansville and Henderson. He became an owner in the 
ferry-boat interest between Louisville and JefFersonville. 
Nowhere on the Ohio River were to be found boats that sur- 
passed the equipments of the boats between Jefiersonville 
and Louisville, and he thus wielded an immense trade that 
widely extended his fame. He was well known from Maine 
to the far off borders of Texas, and from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific Coast. As the demands for business increased, he 
seemed to expand his capacity for every emergency. 

During the civil war he was incessantly at his post, and no 
man was more relied on than he was by the military authori- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 719 

ties. He was never found wanting in anything that was 
needed. His judgment was ripe, his advice at all times judic- 
ious, and when he was called upon for action he was always 
ready and fully equipped for duty. When, for example, 
it was necessary to move Gen. Buell's army from Louisville 
South, Captain Sherley at once furnished means for the trans- 
portation of the entire force by water. The boats made their 
appearance at the proper time as if by magic. This was ac- 
complished by Captain Sherley. His knowledge, the wide 
acquaintance he enjoyed among steamboat men, their perfect 
reliance upon him, enabled him to supply the government with 
all it needed in this great emergency. This fullness, this 
promptitude, enabled Buell to reach Pittsburgh Landing in the 
very nick of time. Li expediting comforts and supplies to 
the soldiers in the field, supplied often by the ton by soldiers' 
aid societies throughout the Northwest and the middle States, 
he was the master mind to whom all looked, and he never 
failed in a single instance in promptly furnishing the needed 
means to forward the supplies. In some of these emergen- 
cies he seemed at times to be endowed with a species of ubi- 
quity. In all these matters he fulfilled to the letter, and in 
the fullness of its spirit, the apostolic injunction : to be " in- 
stant in season, out of season I " It was remarkable how he 
met every emergency; how successfully every one of these de- 
mands upon his capacity was carried out. He thus gave free 
and speedy transportation for supplies that would have footed 
up thousands of dollars if charges had been made. It was a 
consolation and reward to him to know that no suffering sol- 
dier was kept out of supplies by any remissness on his part. 
When the last battle was fought, before its smoke cleared 
away, he became conspicuous in his active, enlarged and ju- 
dicious spirit of conciliation. He at once evinced his desire 
that all should be blotted out, and that we, who had met as 
hostiles, should become one in all things. He carried this out 
in all his conduct; he remembered in the calamities of the 
South, the gentle ofiSces of mercy, kindness and beneficence. 
In these highest traits of humanity he was as active and un- 
ceasing as he had been durincj the war in doings all in his 
power to bring about this result — the peaceful solution of a 
perplexing problem. In the pursuit of this object he enjoyed 
the esteem and confidence of the chiefs of the governing au- 
thorities, and his advice was eagerly sought and usually 
obeyed. In this way Captain Sherley wielded an immense 
influence for the welfare of his country. It was very quietly 
exercised, but was not, thereby, the less effective. 



720 Gould's history of river navigation. 

In the city of Louisville bis judgment and management 
were eagerly sought, and the}^ were in the highest degree use- 
ful in their various exercises. He was a trustee of the med- 
ical department of the University of Louisville for a number 
of years, and was efficient and faithful in the performance of 
his duties of the trusteeship. For a number of years, indeed, 
up to the time of his death, he was a member of the Board of 
Trustees of the Kentucky Institution for educating the blind, 
and of the American Printing-house for the Blind. In 
the duties devolving upon him in these two trusts he 
was remarkable for the excellence of his services. In the 
heating apparatus for the institution, in the alterations of the 
building, in the stucco work on the house, his labors were al- 
together invaluable ; in these he has left testimonials that will 
be fitting monuments to his noble memory. He was for a 
number of 3'ears a trustee of Cave Hill Cemetery. Through 
his active agency a number of deforming obstructions were re- 
moved and graces of beauty and taste were substituted for 
them. We never see them without awakening memories in 
the mind that materially aid in evoking them into monuments 
that supply food to the taste and delight the eye by their 
beauty. In all these departments of duty Captain Sherley 
has left conspicuous traces of himself as imperishable as the 
material on which his tasteful and wise labors were expended. 
In all his business ways, his management of everything, he 
was remarkable for the quiet and unostentatious way in which 
he succeeded. No braying trumpet ever attended him in his 
movements. 

Captain Sherley was married three times. The first wife 
was, as we have mentioned, Mrs. Taylor, a member of the 
celebrated Tarascon family. The second one was Miss Clara 
Jewell, of Louisiana; the third, who survives him, was Miss 
Susan W. Cromwell, of Fayette County. A single son by 
each of these wives survives him. He left a large estate which 
was divided among these four heirs. The afHictive illness 
which carried him off was cancer of the stomach. This de- 
prived him of appetite, and during the last twelve months of 
his life he rarely felt any disposition to take any kind of food. 
His mind was remarkably clear, and he attended to a variety 
of business with an unclouded intellect. This was very con- 
spicuous in all his affairs long after his debility drove him to 
bed. Indeed, this was his condition up to near about the time 
the cancerous tumor of the stomach ate through his duodenum. 
At 2 :15 o'clock on the morning of February 18, 1879, his 
long, beautiful life closed upon earth, amid a host of sorrow- 



BIOGKAPHICAL. 721 

ing friends and relatives. He had become a member of the 
Prei^byterian Church some time before his death, and his 
hours of consciousness were, as his life had been, peaceful and 
calm. His funeral was attended by a multitude of his admir- 
ers, the RfV Messrs. Simpson, Wilson, Humphrey and Tyler 
officiating. His body reposes in the beautiful Cemetery of 
Cave Hill, which he did much to adorn and beautify. 

Thus passed away from among us one of the most perfect 
types of manhood. He was a citizen of whom the common- 
wealth has just reason to be proud. In all the duties of good 
citizenship, he took a delight in advancing the welfare of his 
fellow-citizens. Calm, self-possessed, thoughtful and intelli- 
gent he rarely ever made a mistake in the conception of what 
it was right and proper to do, and he unwaveringly walked in 
the pathway which his judgment approved. He was greatly 
beloved, and he commanded an amount of confidence amonsr 
those who sought his advice in their troubles, and we know of 
many hundreds of this kind that never were misplaced. It is 
incredible what multitudes of such cases went to bim for 
guidance, and how cheerfully and calmly he aided and be- 
friended them. He had a groat number of relatives to whom 
his beneficence and kindness were unceasing. As a son, a 
bi'other, a husband and a father, he was a great exemplar. In 
his friendships he was rarely ever equaled ; if he had any 
enmities, he kept them concealed. 

Upon the occasion of his death, the various and numerous 
bodies of citizens with which' he had long: been connected in 
the transaction of public affairs, met and took action upon the 
great bereavement they had experienced, and expressed their 
sense of the great loss they had experienced in his death." 



Captain Joseph Swagar. 

" The hero of this brief sketch enjoys the honor, doubtless, 
of being the oldest retired steamboat captain in the Mississippi 
Valley. Now, about to round his ninetieth year, he is 
still in marvelous health of mind and body, with his physical 
faculties almost unimpaired, save for some dullness of hear- 
ing. His clear and vivid recollections, stated in his graphic 
yet simple way, go back, as will be seen below, almost to the 
very dawn of the new era in river transportation in this 
Western World. 

Captain Swagar is a native of the Keystone State, born in 
Montgomery county, then thirteen miles north of Philadelphia, 
46 



722 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



on the 29th of October, 1792. When but eight years of age, 
when the glorious nineteenth century was coming in, he went 
with his parents to reside in the Quaker City. Five years 
more passed in the pleasant pursuits of home and the schools 
of that time, when, at the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed 
to a coppersmith, and in seven years became thoroughly mas- 




Captain Joseph Swagar. 

ter of the trade in all its branches, as then practiced. He then, 
late in 1815, decided to try his fortunes in the almost wilder- 
ness West, came across the mountains to the Ohio, and for 
lack of better conveyance just then, embarked in a flat-boat 
for a voyage down that stream. It was caught by cold weath- 
er and much ice at Maysville, and young Swagar pushed into 
the interior, spending the remainder of the winter at Lexing- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 723 

ton. The next spring — sixty-six years, two o;enerations ago, 
be it noted — he reached Louisville, with which most of his 
busy life since has been identiiicd. He shortly engaged to 
take two flat-boats, with cargoes of bacon, whisky and tobacco, 
to New Orleans, where he remained about three months, and 
then took ship for Richmond, Virginia. On this voyage he 
came near being shipwrecked on the Florida coast; but hap- 
pily escaped, went on to Richmond, and reached Philadelphia 
again the same year (1816). He had taken a fancy, however, 
to the rising and hopeful village by the Falls of the Ohio ; and 
after a little rest at the old home, he started again toward the 
setting sun, to make a new one in Louisville. He tarried a 
little at Pittsburgh, and there, l)y arrangement with the owners, 
contracted for the copperwork to go into the Hope Distillery, 
then about to become the most flourishing industry in this 
place He engaged as an engineer in it upon his arrival, and 
completed its works by 1818. 

There were few skilled mechanics of any kind then in town 
and Mr. Swagar found his services considerably in demand. 
Messrs. David Prentice and Thomas Bakewer, in the year l)e- 
fore that last noted, started their foundry here, and turned 
over to him all their steamboat machinery that needed repair- 
ing. He served them profitably until 1821, by which time 
the foundrymen were considerably in his debt; and to extin- 
guish this in part, he took an eighth interest in the new steam- 
er Magnet, which they built the next year, and of which Cap- 
tain J. Beckwith took command. Mr, Swagar's turn came 
the succeeding year (1823), when he mounted the deck of his 
first vessel as master. It was the well remembered Plowboy, 
built that year, of which he also owned an eighth. It was a 
very light-draught steamer, drawing only three feet when emp- 
ty, and built after the pattern of a schooner. He according- 
ly, in 1824, took her up the Wabash to Terre Haute, and gave 
the wondering natives in that quarter and along shore their 
first glimpse of a real steamboat — a sign which some of them, 
it is said, went thirty miles to see. Until 1828 Captain 
Swagar was chief officer of the Plowboy. Then he went to 
Portsmouth at the mouth of the Soioto, bought the orio-inal 
Diana, and ran her two years. As /)neof her longer and more 
eventful trips he went up the Missouri >vith her to Council 
Bluff's in 1829, taking up the Sixth regiment of regular infan- 
try to Fort Leavenworth, and returning with the Third 
regulars. Two years afterward he built a boat which made a 
yet more notable voyage for that period, which deserves to be 
permanently recorded in history. We will let him tell the 



724 Gould's history of kiver navigation. 

story in his own words, as communicated to the Courier- Jour- 
nal in the sprinoj of 1880. 

"After the total failure of the Colonel-Dick-Johnson expedi- 
tion, up the Yellowstone in 1819 and 1820, the Missouri River 
was deemed unnavigable for steamers. The Fur Company 
sent all their supplies to the trading-posts on the Missouri 
River and Yellowstone, in barges or keel-boats until the build- 
ing of the steamer Yellowstone in 1830-31. I had run the 
Diana up to Fort Leavenworth, with a keel-boat in tow, with 
perfect success the year before, and assured the Fur Com- 
pany that I could build them a steamboat that would go to the 
mouth of the Yellowstone and back with as much certainty as 
to New Orleans and back ; that all that was required was a boat 
of easy model, strong, plain engine of sufficient power, etc. 
The engine of the Yellowstone was at least fifty per cent, 
heavier than those usually built at that day. This steamer 
made one voyage a year to the Yellowstone and back to St. 
Louis, without breaking her engine or serious causalt}^, until 
the hull was deemed unsafe from decay. I superintended the 
building of this boat without pay or charge, as I had prom- 
ised the boat builders that they should have at least one boat 
to build per year. My pride of citizenship induced me to 
labor to make Louisville famed for building steamboats and 
engines of a superior class for speed and safety." 

In 183<3-37 Captain Swagar built the steamer Antelope for 
the same company, which successfully navigated the turbulent 
Missouri. He had started the first ship-yard here in 1829, 
and the next year completed in it the first steamer built on 
this side of the Falls, after the Governor Shelby (the Don 
Juan), and also built the Yellowstone. Owning three-fourths 
of the vessel, he took personal command, and ran her for 
two years ; sold out and built the Diana No. 2; ran her one 
and one-half years, and sold to the Fur Company ; built the 
General Brown in 183G, for himself. Captain Frank Carter 
(now superintendent of the Cincinnati line of mail packets), 
and D. S. Benedict. This was the fastest boat of her time. 
The next year he sold her to his partners and others, and 
built the Diana No. 3 ; which, in 1838, at a time when a pre- 
mium of five hundred dollars in gold was offered to the 
steamer which should get here from New Orleans inside of 
six days, brought the mails up in five days twenty-three hours 
and fifteen minutes. From 1842 the Captain himself ran the 
Diana No. 3, until she was somewhat worn, when he recon- 
structed her for the Diana No. 4, which he commanded one 
year and then sold. In 1845 he built the Homer, ran her two 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 725 

years, and then, in 1848, at the age of fifty-six, he retired 
permanently from the river. 

In the year 1849 he made the overhiud trip with Bryant's 
company of emigrants to California, a trip of two thousand 
two hundred miles, with a pack-mule train; but returned the 
next year. In 1854* he was instrumental, with the late Capt. 
John Shallcross and others, in getting up the first law for 
the regulation of steamboat navigation through Congress. 
The next year he was appointed local inspector of hulls at 
Louisville, and held the post until 1861. Since that time he 
has been substantially retired from business, although for 
some time about 1865 he was President of the Franklin bank. 

Capt. Swagar was married in 1819 to Miss Mary Walter, 
of Louisville, sister of Jacob Walter, well known in local 
history as a lively speculator of that age. She died in 1835, 
and he was remarried in 1839, his second wife being Rachel 
Moore, of Philadelphia, descendant of one of the emigrants 
with William Penn. She survived until February 1, 1870. 
His children living are but two — Frances, daughter of the 
former wife, now wife of Joseph Clement, long a hardware 
merchant in Philadelphia, and has three children ; and Ella 
S., daughter of Mrs. Moore-Swagar, married Thomas H. 
Sherley, a prominent business man in Louisville, and they 
have five children — three daughters and two sons. Captain 
Swagar lost eight children, four by each marriage — among 
them a very talented and promising son, Charles M., who 
after a varied and eventful life, died in Paris in 1871." 

Capt. John W. Cannon. 

The following short letter from his son indicates the energy 
and perseverance so thoroughly prominent throughout Capt. 
Cannon's life that to those who knew him it is not necessary 
to add anything. Laudable ambition was his peculiarity. 
Honesty and integrity marked his course through life. Kind- 
ness, generosity and suavity were prominent virtues in his 
character. 

His great ambition to excel all competitors involved his 
health and his fortune. And although a man of remarkable 
physique and ofgood judgment his ambition probably destroyed 
both. 

To his enterprise and ambition the merchant marine of the 
Mississippi Valley is largely indebted for the world renowned 
elegance and speed of its steamboats in the past. 

The accompanying cut is a photograph of the steamer Rob- 

* This should probably 1)3 1851. 



726 Gould's history of river navigation. 

eit E. Lee as she :ip])eured on her arriviil at St. Louis after her 
great race with the Natchez in 1870. 

Capt. Cannon's name is so familiarly associated with that of the 
" Bob Lee," that to speak of the one involves that of the other. 

It is claimed by the friends of the Lee that she was the 
champion of Western waters. 

The record shows that she made the best time from New 
Orleans to St. Louis ever made and also to most of the points 
below St. Lo^iis. 

Whether the circumstances attending the great race against 
time, made by the first J. M. White in 1844, were such as 
to deprive that boat of the championship she so long enjoyed 
will probably always remain a moted question. 

The last boat of that name left an imperfect record of 
speed, although there is no doubt she was the fastest and 
the most elegant steamboat ever built for Western waters. 

New Orleans, April 10th, 1889. 

Capt. E. W. Gould, tit. Louis, Mo.: 

" Dear Sir — Agreeable to promise I now write 3'ou con- 
cerning my father. John W. Cannon was born June 17th, 
1820, on a farm, two miles above Hawesville on the Ohio 
River in Hancock county, Ky. ; his tution at school he paid 
with money earned by rail-splitting. When a young man he 
made a trip down the Mississippi with a flat-boat laden with 
coal and hoop-poles ; then he went on the Ouachita boats as 
cub pilot, paying for that privilege by sundry work on the boat. 
After leaving the river, by strict economy saving his earnings, 
and with the aid of friends he built the steamer Louisiana, 
which boat was destroyed by the explosion of her boilers at 
the New Orleans wharf just on the eve of departure ; a large 
number of persons were killed by the accident. Then he 
built the following boats : S. W. Downs, Bella Dona, W. W. 
Farmer, R. W. McRae, Gen. Quitman, Vicksburg, two R. 
E. Lee's, J. W. Cannon, Ed. Richardson. Owned the 
Rockaway, Anna, and interests in a number of boats that I 
have no knowledge of. Father was attacked in the prime of 
life by pneumonia brought on by neglected colds which 
settled on his lungs, and after many years of physical misery 
died at his home in Frankfort, Ky., April 18th, 1882, where 
he is buried. 

I trust from the above you will be able to get what data 
you may need for the book to be published. 

With my kindest regards and best wishes for your health. 
Respectfully yours, etc., W. L. Cannon. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



727 



THE BEST RECORDED TIME EVER MADE OX THE MISSISSIPPI. 




728 Gould's history of river navigation. 



PROMINENT NAMES THAT HAVE CROSSED THE KIVER. 

Among the foregoing, whose biographies and auto- 
biographies have been briefly sketched, will be missed the 
names of many of their cotemporaries, the honorable mention 
of which in this connection would awaken pleasant memories 
of the past in the minds of thousands of their survivors, and 
add much to the interest of these pages. 

It was the hope and expectation of the author to enlist a 
much larger number of contributors to this part of the work. 

But the modesty of the survivors and the appai'ent apathy 
of the part of those whose friends have crossed to the other 
shore, leaves a vacancy in the history of this great factor of 
Western civilization much to be regretted. 

Among the many prominent names that will be recalled on 
the Ohio River that are not mentioned in this work, are Captains 
Forsythe, Jacobs, Beltzhoover, May, Wood, Campbell, Bennett, 
Woodward, Smith, Stockdale, Reno, Poe, Hazlett, McLain, 
Mason, List, Pierce, Rogers, Pepper, Stine, Summons, Kyle, 
Shallcross, Bashum, Goslee, Sturgeon, Van Dusen, Woolfolk, 
Hite, Montgomery, Mekin, Irwin, Benedict, McConnell, Hil- 
dreth, Faucett and many others. 

On the Upper Mississippi such familiar names as Taylor, Van 
Houten, Reynolds, Loockwood, Able, Eaton, Miller, Fitheon, 
Bernard, Warner, Whitney, Roe, Ranney, Moore, Hawk, 
Jewett, Welton, Weaver, Cameron, Gorman, Ater, De Witt, 
Sweeney, Middelton, McCune, Johnston, Freeland, Stettinius, 
Price, Blood and many others no less worthy, will long be 
remembered without an epitaph. 

The Lower Mississippi too, has its mementoes of the past, in 
such names as Holmes, Smoker, Hart, Cotten, Strecke, Hooper, 
Kounz, Sinnott, Burdeau, Blanke, Tobin, Brown, Kennett, 
Achin, Lee, all worthy of an epitaph in a history devoted 
to the great industry in which they were among the promi- 
nent actors, the absence of which may suggest to their sur- 
vivors the consistency of writing their oion epitaphs before 
crossing the river for the last time. 

No profession in life is more frequently called upon to make 
sacrifices and to contribute to the worthy and the unworthy 
than the Western river boatman, and none are more ready to 
contribute to the cause of humanity. 



AN OFT TOLD TALE. 729' 



Steamboat Book-Keeping of Long Ago, 

The following imaofinarv dialoojue so well illustrates what 
many steamboat men and owners have been familiar with, it 
deserves a place in these reminiscences before the closing 
chapter. 

It is from the Sketch Book of St. Louis, published in 1858. 

" From the simplicity of the practical forms now in use for 
cash books, freight books, passage books, etc., the limited 
variety of transactions and the uniform manner of adjusting 
each trip's work in the ordinary routine consequent upon doing 
a cash business exclusively, many have been led to suppose 
steamboat book-keeping to be a very easy and simple thing. 
While to the thorough accountant and experienced steamboat 
clerks, such is the fact, but in a great majority of cases the 
reverse holds good. 

That is, steamboat book-keeping without the knowledge of 
mercantile book-keeping, is more complex, varied and difficult 
than the latter. And why should it not be so? Steamboats 
incur responsibilities, contract debts, deliver goods without 
pay, just as merchants do. 

They often speculate just as merchants speculate and not 
unfrequently negotiate bills of exchange " to raise the wind " 
or to make ends meet under circumstances that would make a 
levee merchant blush. I have known a man to purchase a 
steamboat without a dollar in hand, drop her down to the 
wharf, stick up his "shingle" for New Orleans, get a full 
cargo, step into one of our offices, effect an insurance on his 
freight list, negotiate a bill of exchange on his agent in New 
Orleans to pay charges and outfit here, make a successful trip 
or two, pay for his boat and in sixty days be on the lookout 
for another similar speculation. 

Such, and three times as much more of a kindred nature, 
not unfrequently falls under the observation of any one whose 
duty calls him to wade through lots of books where such trans- 
actions have been involved. 

Understanding: one account an alternative is left him, that 
is to throw all transactions into his cash account. 

Recapitulate and hand over a cash memorandum to his suc- 
cessor. 

This clerk turns over a new leaf, counts the actual cash on 
hand and commences his work on a " clean sheet," but pays 
no further attention to the " "cash memorandum." (It being 
no part of his business.) 



730 Gould's history of river navigation. 

The memorandum is soon misplaced or lost, debts due the 
boat remain uncollected and bills against the boat commence 
coming in, of which there is no entry in the books. 

The season advancing and the receipts falling off, the 
owners conclude to " tie up." Whereupon the following in- 
teresting conversation occurs : — 

Owner. Well, Cap, what is the word? 

Captain. Gentlemen, we have had a fine run, a splendid 
business, curried more freight and passengers, made better 
time, burned less wood, carried less crew, had the best steward 
in the trade. Indeed, gentlemen, it is acknowledged by all 
hands in port and out of port, high water or low water, that 
she is emphatically the boat. 

Owners. Good morning, Mr. Clerk, what's the good news 
with you? 

Clerk. Good morning, gentlemen ; right side up ; only 
give this boat a good chance and " she'll stack you up a cord 
of it." 

doners. What do you mean by a good chance, Mr. Clerk? 

Clerk. Get the owners to square off the old debts up to 
date ; put in an extra boiler ; paint up and put her in first- 
rate running order, and let Capt. manage affairs to 

suit his own notion. 

Owners. How far short will she be after paying off as far 
as she is now able? 

Clerk. Can't tell exactly; indeed, a Philadelphia lawyer 
could not tell from the manner in which those books have 
been kept, up to the time of my taking charge of them, bills 
are coming in every trip; hut, so far as known, about fourteen 
hundred dollars will be the pile. 

Owners. Well, well, this will do pretty well for green hands 
at steamboating. A splendid boat; a fine and popular cap- 
tain ; an economical steward ; had a splendid run ; made lots 
of money, but no cash on board. 

This might be thought a fancy sketch by some, with a few 
thousand dollars in spare cash, just ready to embark in a 
steamboat speculation. But it is our candid impression that 
if an infallible medium were to issue a narrative containing the 
history of steamboating, and the Kves of steamboat owners, 
especially of those who are not familliar with steamboat 
accounts, the facts disclosed would prove that hundreds of 
captains, pilots, engineers, etc., had been ruined, or bank- 
rupt, and thousands of dollars squandered by incompetent, 
inexperienced and careless steamboat clerks." 

It must be recollected that this picture was drawn in 1858. 



THIRTY years' EXPERIENCE. 731 

We have had a good deal of experience in the last thirty years : 
We have passed through four or five years of war, which 
developed a good deal of rough clerking; some fine speci- 
mens of speculation by contractors and star-routers; some 
loyal patriotism that thought Uncle Sam was an old goose and 
ought to be picked, and some magnificent specimens of steal- 
ing, that have entirely laid in the shade all the little shortings 
thiit have been developed by incompetent and unreliable 
steamboat clerks since the introduction of steam. 

Then, again, we have seen the demoralizing effect of the 
love of money upon men in high position in civil life, alder- 
men, bank officers and confidential clerks. So while what the 
expert book-keeper of 1858 declared he believed was true, 
we have the satisfaction of thinking they were not of all men 
the greatest thieves. 

We also have the satisfaction of knowing that steamboat 
clerks of the present day are competent, and as honesi as the 
average of mankind, who are obliged to work for less money 
than will support them, and then only get employment 
half the time. Besides, if they were inclined to purloin, 
steamboats have not the money to steal they had at the time 
above referred to. 

However, the picture of the expert is no ideal one, but 
will call to mind many cases where precisely the same state 
of facts, if not the same language, has existed in the experi- 
ence of many men who have long been ensaored in the business. 

The failure or want of success does not, however, as this 
expert intimates, always or, indeed, in the majority of cases, 
arise from dishonest clerks, but from incompetent masters, 
not as sailors or practical boatmen, but as good business men. 

There is no position in life where a more thorough knowl- 
edge of men, of general business transactions, of what is due 
to patrons, to the employed, and to politeness, than is neces- 
sary in a man in charge of a good business steamboat. The 
practice of placing a man in charge of a steamboat because he 
was a sailor, or familiar with the duties of a master, or what 
is known as a good boatman, without the other qualifications 
has done more to ruin the success of owners, and bring dis- 
credit upon the occupation, than the ignorance, or lack of 
integrity on the part of steamboat clerks. 



732 Gould's history of river navigation. 



Fifty Years' Observations Condensed. 

Ill the lifetime of a nation fifty years is but a span, ^ 
moment of time. Bat in the life of an individual, if an event- 
ful life, how much is often crowded into it. How much of 
interest, if remembered, could be related of the events that 
have transpired under the observation of even a boatman on 
the Mississippi. 

While these pages chronicle events covering a much longer 
period than fi'fty years, in closing this desultory history 
it may be interesting to note a few of the more striking 
changes that have occurred in the valley within the observa- 
tion of one man, and will illustrate the changes that are rapidly 
being evolved. 

A recent trip (1889) along the principal streams of the 
valley, has given the writer an excellent opportunity to con- 
trast the situation, the condition of things j^yify years ago with 
the present time or 

then and now. 

Commencing at New Orleans, the natural culminating point of 
the principal river commerce of the great valley, from the 
deck of a steamboat one is struck with the great change that 
is presented to the eye of one who was familiar with the scene 
fifty years ago. Even thirty years perhaps has wrought a 
greater change. 

Then, all was life and animation, no commercial scene prob- 
ably in the world equaled that of New Orleans during the 
business season from 1840 to 18G0. 

No mart, or area devoted to commercial purposes, could 
excel the wharves in that city in the amount of business trans- 
acted, the number of vessels engaged, the number of 
drays that were employed, or the cosmopolitan character of 
the people that thronged them. 

Now, how changed — instead of the moving panorama of 
human, animal, and vegetable life, revolving in quick succes- 
sion throughout the immense space devoted to commerce, the 
iron horse with long trains of cars and numerous depots, sheds, 
etc., occupy the principal space on the levee, while the water 
front that was then occupied by so many steamboats, flat- 
boats, and sailing vessels, is now occupied by comparatively 
few of either, but with many large steamships, grain-barges, 
tow-boats, coal-boats, sailing craft and a few steamboats. 



NOTABLE CHANGES ON THE COAST. 733 

There are no statistics at hand by which to determine the ag- 
greo;ate amount of business noio and tlien. But while the 
city is supposed to have added 150,000 inhabitants to its popu- 
lation \\\ fifty years it is evident its commerce has largely in- 
creased, although judging from a casual observation on the 
wharves one will naturally conclude there has been a large fall- 
ing off from its most prosperous years. 

Then there were no railroads. Now there are seven lines of 
roads centering at New Orleans. 

Modern ideas are developing in every direction. Progress 
and evolution are written in bold relief in many parts of the 
city. Buildings that would do credit to any city are being 
erected, and many private residences indicate a degree of 
wealth and refinement unknown in the earlier days. Great 
improvement is observed in the sanitary condition of the city, 
resulting from paving the streets with granite blocks, and in a 
more perfect drainage. 

Much yet remains to be done in that direction, and when 
properly done as now proposed, no city will present greater 
attractions to visitors or to business men. 

Its system of street railroads is unequaled, many of its 
streets are wide and tastily shaded and its system of electric 
lights throughout the city surpasses that of an}' other. No 
greater change is observed than in the character and habits of 
the people. This arises largely from the change incident to 
the emancipation of the slaves and a more general adoption of 
American customs. 

Its close proximity to the West India Islands, to Central 
and South America, to the Pacific Ocean, via the Isthmus 
routes which are soon to be opened, to commerce ; with ex- 
tensively improved water communication extending to all 
parts of the valley, it can only be a c^uestion of a' few years 
when New Orleans will realize greater changes than it has in 
the h\st fif ty yeais. 

In passing up the river from New Orleans /iffy years has 
wrought many changes which are painfully apparent. Not so 
much perhaps in fifty as in forty years. This is evidently 
caused by a change in the system of labor too. 

Many large, fine sugar plantations are much neglected. Some 
others are abandoned and overgrown with willows and weeds, 
many sugar houses are in ruins andelegant dwellings going to 
decay. Where once was seen rows of 20, SO, 40 and 50 neat 
comfortable cabins for negro quarters, many are gone or de- 
serted while the occupants are scattered and many of them have 
become vagrants, wandering up and down the earth, while 



734 



GOULD S HISTORY OF RIVER NAVIGATION. 



Others ;ire squatting along the banks of the river in little 
shanties, subsisting on ci'awtish, garden truck and an occa- 
sional day's work they can chance to get from " ole massa " 
or his more fortunate successor. Even that univ^ersal resort 
to which all poorer classes on the coast formerly claimed as a 
Common heritage, whether slave or free, no longer avails 
them, as there is no sale for drift-wood. Both sugar houses 
and steamboats have substituted coal for fuel in a large de- 
gree. If such was not the case, it is doubtful whether the 
negroes have sufficient energy to catch the drift and prepare 
it for fuel. Most of the larger estates that owned and worked 
from three to six hundred hands have changed owners or 
been subdivided until they are no longer recognized as the 
beautiful places oi fifty years ago. 

In many places may l)e seen along the banks of the river, 
just in the rear of the levees, collections of small houses, 
cabins and tents, among which one of larger proportions is 
designated the store, occupied by a son of Abraham, dispens- 
ing the necessaries of life to the children of Ham at the small 
profit of one hundred per cent, " being zust what he cost me, 
■ so help me gracious." 

There have been since the war but few improvements, and no 
new land added by clearing up th« swamps. This is not only 
true on the coast, within the sugar-belt, but extends all the 
way to Cairo ; nor docs there appear much improvement in 
the small towns and parishes even up to that point, and many 
that were in embryo fifty years ago have disappeared 
altogether. 

Baton Rouge is the first point above New Orleans that seems 
to have aroused itself and responded to the demand to " fall 
in " and join in the march of improvement that its position 
entitles it to do. 

Leaving many towns in obscurity that had large pretensions 
fifty years ago, Natchez is still found sitting upon a hill that 
cannot be hidden, and while evidences of prosperity and pro- 
gress are apparent, it has. not m ide rapid strides commen- 
surate with the beauty of its location or of its early promise. 
One hundred years ago Natchez was an important point, and 
the laro-est and best known town above New Orleans on the 
Mississippi. 

" Natchez under the hill " had a notoriety known to no other 
point in the great valley. But the great tornado in May, 1840, 
swept from sight nearly all the buildings and flat-boats that 
had so long served as a rendezvous for the thousands of 
desperate and dissolute that congregated there. That portion 



VICKSBURG ON WALNUT HILLS. 735 

of the city has never been re-built, but the destruction on the 
hill has long since been obliterated by new and improved 
d\vellino;s and business houses. 

Passing several which were embryo cities JifCt/ years ago, 
Vicksburg, or what was known as the 3d Chickasavj Bluff, 
has survived the fierce onslaught of the Federal forces under 
General Grant, and the effects of Yankee shells from Young's 
Point, and still presents the most picturesque and beautiful 
view from the river to be seen from New Orleans to St. Louis, 
And notwithstanding, the river in its natural course has suc- 
ceeded in doing what General Grant could not do, and has left 
the city a mile distant from its channel, through the capacity 
of Government engineers and the liberal appropriations from 
Congress, Vicksburg still maintains its commercial import- 
ance, and has high hopes of continued prosperity. The 
quiet and unpretending little city of Lake Providence, 
bordering on the shores of the picturesque lake of that name,, 
seems to about hold its own, and serves to awaken pleasant 
recollections in the minds of travelers and navigators o^ fifty 
years ago. Fifty miles above is Greenville, a modern little 
city unknown to fame fifty years ago. But if the Govern- 
ment succeeds in arresting the city plat from its tendency 
to cave and fioat off, there seems good reason to believe 
the enterprise of the Hebrews and other nationalities 
there, will succeed in building a city of some magnitude. 
The once well-known towns of Columbia and GainesLanding 
have ceased to attract attention and are only remembered for 
what they once were. 

Arkansas City, fifty miles above Greenville, is a modern 
town, and at one time had high expectations, from the fact that 
a railroad connected it with Pine Blutf and other interior 
points in Arkansas. But the argus eye of Jay Gould was at- 
tracted by the volume of business arriving there by steamboat, 
and a branch road settled the question, leaving Arkansas City 
to wonder in amazement at the effect of one man's suo-oestion. 

At the mouth of the Arkansas River where once stood the 
famous city of Napoleon nothing remains to mark the spot, 
and its classic grounds have long since floated into the Gulf of 
Mexico through the jetties. 

The mouth of the White River or Montgomery's Point, the 
bloody ground of fifty years ago, and the resort and hiding 
place of MiuTers gang, and river pirates and desperadoes, has 
long since followed its rival. Napoleon, and deposited in the 
waters of the gulf the remains of a greater number of out- 
laws than any other point on the Mississippi can boast of. 



736 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Friar'' s Point has changed but little in appearance in fifty 
years, but Delta has disappeared. 

Helena has " fought a good fight," and arisen from a sub- 
merged bed of river deposit, and the energy and enterprise of 
her citizens has excited the admiration and sympatliy of the 
Government, which will probably result in more perfect pro- 
tection in the near future. 

Sterling, Austin and Commerce have but little left to indi- 
cate their importance ^y^?/ years :igo. 

Memphis stands out in bold relief, and in striking contrast 
with the 400 miles of what is yet often submerged bottom- 
lands, that we have been passing since we left Vicksburg on 
the third Chickasaw Bluff. 

Here, on what was familiarly known as the Second Chicka- 
saw Bluff, in the early times, has sprung into life a beautiful 
city of 100,000 inhabitants, \N\\m\\ fifty years ago could hardly 
boast of one-tenth that number. 

After traveling hundreds of miles through the low wilder- 
ness country, destitute of even the thousands of cord-wood 
piles that lined its banks ^y?^ years ago, and the numerous 
steamboats, and yet more numerous flat-boats that were never 
out of sight, Memphis rises like an oasis in the desert, to dispe 
the thought that we have retrograded — that we have been 
taking a Kip Van Winkle nap for the ]i\'^t fifty years. 

Notwithstanding the absence of the large number of steam 
and flat-boats, that once crowded the levee in front of the 
city, and covered its limited wharf with cotton bales and the 
importations from all other countries, enough remaius to con- 
trast the progress in fifty years, and to note the fact that 
Memphis has caught the inspiration of the age, and is no 
longer wedded to the old ways of transportation, nor of the 
manner of doing business in ante bellum times. 

New Orleans and other rival points must look well to their 
interests, or Memphis will eclipse their cotton aspii'ations and 
leave them in the shade. 

What has been said of the country below Memphis will 
apply even up to Cairo. Leaving Memphis, the first old land 
mark, Randolph, is about " snowed under," and lost its im- 
portance, if it ever had any, as a shipping point. Osceola is 
obscured from view by the large tow-head in front of the 
town, although claiming to be among the progressive points 
in Arkansas. 

The fleet of government boats laying at the upper landing 
is about all that changes the place in appearance now from 
fif^y yeors ago, except the large tow-head in front of the 



SINKING OF STEAMBOAT KNICKERBOCKER. 737 

town. The same monotony continues, only intensified hy the 
absence of the immense piles of cord-wood, and wood-boats, 
that formerly lined both shores, until reaching Mrs. Merry- 
weathers ( now Caruthersville), Point Pleasunt and New Madrid. 

These places occupy about the same position and importance 
as formerly. The latter point, however, being still on wheels, 
gracefully recedes as the river encroaches upon its sandy 
foundation. 

There is scarcely enough left of Island Number Ten to mark 
that famous battle ground, in the early days of the rebellion, 
when mortar practice with whistling shells, and rifle pits was 
the chosen mode of warfare. Mills Point, or Hickman, as 
it is now called, has increased in size and population slowly. 
But when a railroad reached it, which was supposed to increase 
its importance as a commercial point, the immense tobacco 
trade, of which it had a monopoly, was directed to other points 
and Hickman soon lost its pre-eminence as a shipping point. 

The Chalk Banks and Columbus, or as formerly known, the 
" first Chickasaw Bluff " still holds its own against the resist- 
less force of the Mississipj)!, which has for long years can- 
noned against its side, leaving the little town of Columbus 
undisturbed; while its commercial importance was carried 
off by the first train of cars that crossed the ferry to the Iron 
Mountain Railroad many years since. 

FiftT/ yecn^s has done much to bring Cairo to the front, and 
to protect it from the floods of the two " River Gods" that 
unite here and carry commerce and devastation on their way 
to the gulf. 

It is now just fifty years, or in 1839, this writer had an 
eventful experience at Cairo, which then had but a single 
house to mark the spot in high water, but many flat-boats 
and water craft moored at the shore, vvith one larger one, 
kept by a Mr. Falls, a very accommodating, agreeable Irish- 
man, who lived across the river at Birds Point, in Missouri, 
and did business at Cairo. 

The channel of the Mississippi at that time was close down 
the Illinois shore and very near where the " Haliday House " 
now stands. 

The two islands that have since occupied the bend above, 
have each in turn been removed and deposited on the point at 
Cairo, and in turn have again been washed down until at pres- 
ent the point and the channel are more than a mile below tlie 
town. 

The one house was located near the Mississippi, and stood 
upon posts several feet above the ground. It was a two- 

47 



738 Gould's history of river navigation. 

story frame, some 150 feet long, divided into compartments, 
and used for a hotel, a private dwelling, a store house, and in 
fact for anything that needed shelter. 

Ill coming out of the Mississippi with the steamer Knicker- 
bocker, she struck an obstruction on the bottom about two 
miles above the point, knocking a large hole in her knuckle 
and bottom, which, upon going into the hold, I at once saw 
would sink the boat very soon, perhaps before we could reach 
the shore at Cairo. But as the current was too strong, and 
the river too full of snags and trees, which were then just fall- 
ing in with the bank and the island, I ran to the hurricane 
deck and instructed the pilot (Capt. John Carlisle), to get 
the boat around the point at Cairo, if possible, that being the 
only safe place we could reach to land the large numl)er of 
passengers on board. In rounding the point he shaved the 
bank so closely one could have nearly reached dry land by 
jumping from the guards of the boat. She was landed among 
several flat-boats, with but little regard to the manner of 
landing, and the passengers and crew availed themselves of 
those floating craft to escape from the rapidly sinking boat. 
We had barely time to run a hauser to a big cotton-wood tree 
then standing on the bank, to prevent her sliding into deep 
water, when she went down. 

The boat was loaded principally with lead, and sunk very 
quicklv. There were no lives lost except that of stock, and 
of them but few could be unloosed in time to save them. 

As is often the case in time of peril and excitement, some 
amusing incidents occurred which become indelibly fixed in 
my mind. 

After the boat struck the snag and it was announced she 
was sinking, in going from the lower deck to the roof, I 
passed through the cabin to see that the passengers were all 
called, as it was then early in the morning. I found every- 
body up and in the cabin, but no one had finished their toilet, 
nor did they seem to know or care anything about toilets or 
clothing. One gentleman from Palmyra, Missouri, had a 
large number of slaves on board he was taking to New Or- 
leans for sale. He came rushing forward from the after part 
of the cabin, with his pants and one suspender and one boot 
on, and a life-preserver in his hands, which he was trying to 
inflate, crying at the top of his voice: " Where are my 
niggers, where are my niggers? " But the negroes were saved 
and re-shipped, as were the other passengers, to the place of 
their destination. 

The liffht freight and other movable things about the wreck 



LEAD MINING AT CAIRO. 739 

■were soon disposed of by the river pirates, iind others living 
along the shores. 

As this was before tbe introductiou of diving-bells and 
wrecking-boats, the cargo (lead) remained for many years in 
the hull, and was in after years a frequent resort of the diving- 
bell men in dull times, and proved a lead mine worth working, 
A stay of some weeks at the wreck made a lasting impression 
upon my mind as to the accommodations of the Cairo hotel 
and the value of water lots. 

Until the Illinois Central Railroad built its track along the 
bank of the Ohio in front of the town, the growth of Cairo 
was slow. Since that time it has made commendable progress, 
and if its business is not interrupted by the building of rail- 
road bridges, in the near future, and the Government continues 
its protection of the river banks, there seems uo good reason 
why Cairo should not show greater improvement in the next fifty 
years than it has in the last. So far as the improvement on the 
banks of the river above Cairo go, there is no advantage over 
those below Cairo. With the exception of Cape Girardeau and 
Chester, ^/^y years has made no change for the better, until 
St. Louis is reached. These two places seem to have over- 
shadowed all others along the river, and made some advance; 
they being the principal railroad points may account in some 
degree "for their improvement. 

In all the changes that fifty years has produced between 
New Orleans and St. Louis, none are so marked as the changes 
in the number and character of the floating craft on the river 
and the changes incident thereto. 

Then and Now. 

Then a steamboat of 1,000 tons capacity was never seen. 

Noic those of 1,500 tons are not uncommon. 

Then a boat with two engines was unheard of. 

Now it is not unusual for them to have six and sometimes 
even more. 

Then a doctor or auxiliary engine for pumping water into 
the boilers was not thought of, and a steam whistle never 
heard. 

Now they are universal. 

Then the use of steam to work the capstan or to handle 
spars had not been adopted. 

Now no boat is without them. 

Then loose planks were used to construct a stage or gangway 
at every landing. 



740 Gould's history of river navigation. 

Noiu a substantial stage is always suspended and ready to 
launch into position for use I)y the power of steam by the tine 
the boat strikes the landing. 

Then the use of coal for steam on Mississippi River boats 
had not been adopted, and " wooding the boat" was an im- 
portant feature which even the deck passengers were expected 
to take part in. 

Noxo wood is seldom used except for culinary purposes ; 
not even torch- wood is required, as the almost universal elec- 
tric light supersedes all other modes of artificial light, and is 
one of the greatest auxiliaries to safety, convenience and econ- 
omy that has been introduced since the application of steam 
to navigation. 

Then boats were constructed with the ladies' cabin in the 
hold of the boat, which was open, and in the afterpart. The 
o'cntlemen occupied a cabin overhead, located nearer forward, — 
state-rooms were not thought of, nor a Texas for the crew pro- 
vided. 

Then a tow-boat with barges of produce or merchandise, or 
a tow of coal boats was never seen. 

Now a larger amount of both are thus transported than is 
carried on ordinary steamboats. 

Then a steamboat was seldom out of sight, night or day, 
and to see twenty flat-boats at one time was no novel sight. 

Now to meet or pass a steamboat attracts particular atten- 
tion and a flat-boat or l)road-horn with produce is seldom 
seen, while tow-boats with large tows of barges loaded with 
produce or merchandise are not unfrequently in sight. 

In a good stage of water in the Ohio River a tow-boat with 
fifteen or twenty loaded coal boats going down the Mississippi, 
or the same number of empty boats going up, is no rare thing. 

Then no beacon light was seen on the banks to assist a 
pilot in finding an obscure landmark in a dark stormy night, 
or relieve the anxiety of the captain who has been standing on 
the hurricane deck watching for an ugly snag, or a dangerous 
break he knew they were in the neighborhood of. 

NoiOy through the watchful care of the light house board and 
the annual appropriation of the Government, all difiicult cross- 
ings are well defined, and dark nights are robbed of their former 
gloom and uncertainty. 

Then, to see fifty snags in the channel at one glance was no 
rare occurrence and the wreck of a steamboat was no novelty. 

Now, through the ingenuity of Captain Henry M. Shreve, 
the Government is enabled to remove the snags as often as they 
make their appearance, and the genius of Captain J. B. Eads 



GAMBLING THEN AND NOW. 741 

has rendered practicable the raishig of many sunken boats, 
and the removal of all wrecks. 

Then the custom of card playing was almost universal with 
passengers, in which the crew often participated, when otTduty. 
As the rules of most boats did not restrict card players to 
" simple games for amusement " or require them to " retire at 
10 o'clock," they were sometimes continued into the wee 
small hours, and not unfrequently until daylight — many old 
stewards can yet bear testimony to the fact that they have 
often found the same plaj^ers still engaged in the fascinating 
old game of dravj when they called their cabin crew at day- 
light in the morning, that were playing with their coats off 
when he retired the evening previous. 

To find fifteen or twenty old decks of cards strewn over the 
floor of the social hall in the morning (the i)art of the cabin 
that was then appropriated to card playing and the oflScer's 
moms, which was of course before the Texas or ofiicer's quar- 
ters were introduced on to Western l)oats) was no uncommon 
thing. 

Fabulous stories were told of the amount of money and 
valuables lost and won at these all-night sittings, and not un- 
frequently, negroes, then on the way to a Southern market, 
in charge of their owners, were staked on the result of the 
winning hand. 

As an evidence that those games were sometimes indulged 
in by officers even though on duty, this writer has abundant 
testimony. A single case in point will illustrate, and it will 
not be necessary to call names, as many (not very old boat- 
men either) will recall the circumstance. 

In the early spring of the beautiful little side-wheel 

l^oat belonging on the upper rivers, was returning to 

St. Louis from atrip to New Orleans, when she struck a snag 
at Ruckers Point, betAveen Memphis and Cairo. 

The boat and cargo were a total loss, but no other casualty. 
Later developments proved conclusively that the pilot on 
watch, or who should have been on watch, was in the hall below 
playing poker with the p;issengers, and a steersman was pilot- 
ing the boat, when she struck a snag, being too far out on the 
bar. 

Many such cases could doubtless be enumerated, but not 
many perhaps with such fatal results. 

N'oiv, all is changed. One may sometimes make a trip of 
several days on a steamboat and not see a game of any kind 
played. Gambling is an unusual occurrence, and when in- 
dulged in by passengers the game is closed at bed-time, in 



742 Gould's history of river navigation. 

accordance with the rules of all good boats. Now, such a 
thing as the crew participating in any game on board, is of 
rare occurrence and never to the neglect of duty. 

The cause of this change may be more difficult to de- 
termine ; it certainly does not arise from a higher state ot 
morals. 

While there may be less pul)lic gambling with cards, there 
is evidently tenfold more gambling in Inisiness transactions 
than ever before. The principal difference in betting on who 
holds the best hand at cards, and on the price of corn or 
wheat next month, is simply the time and manner of settle- 
ment. As one has become a legitimate ( ?) occupation, and the 
other indulged in usually as a pasttimc, or recreation, it may 
be an interesting question for the moralist to determine vvhich 
is the least demoralizing. 

UrPER MISSISSIPPI. 

Leaving St. Louis and going up the Mississippi, _y?/?y years 
has made but little change in the appearance of the country 
or of the river, until Keokuk is reached. 

The few towns and cities that are passed show an ini[)rovod 
condition generally, but not specially marked, considering the 
length of time between tJien and now. 

Half a century has developed Keokuk from a sm dl village 
of whites, half-breeds and Indians, to a prosperous city of 
40,000. 

From there to the falls of St. Anthony there has been a 
wonderful change, not only in the settlement and cultiva- 
tion of the land on the banks of the river, but also in building 
cities and towns. 

Fifty years has probably done more to develop and culti- 
vate that portion of the valley than has been done in all other 
portions combined. 

The first half of the fifty years developed an immense river 
commerce. Since that time it has been largely transferred to 
railroads and the tonnage of the river correspondingly reduced. 

The large expenditures by the government for the improve- 
ment of navigation onght to have secured to the river a con- 
stantly increasing business. 

The pine lumber business is probably the only one that has 
held its own since its development, which has been within the 
fifty years. It now emyloys some 100 tow-boats and many 
thousand men. 

The only thing that seems possible to interfere with that 
river traflSc is exhausting the supply of pine timber. 



WHAT MAY BE DEVELOPED IN THE FUTURE. 743 

While the luimorou'^ bridges across the stream add hiro;ely 
to the expense of handlinfi^ rafts, the introduction of steam still 
renders the river the cheapest mode of marketing the himber. 

Most of the laroje towns above St. Lonis have l)een built, or 
larfjely so, through the j)roHts of the lumber trade. 

Less ihnu Ji ft 1/ yearn has brought St. Paul and Minneajiolis 
from nothing to their present prosperous condition. Many 
boatmen are still living who can remember the time when 
neither place had even a log cal)in to mark their location ; so 
too with many of the towns lower down the river. 

Fifty years has seen Nauvoo grow from a single stone 
house on the bank of the river to a city of 30,000 inhabitants 
and then dwindle away to less than one thousand. 

The beautiful transparency of the water, as it floats gently 
along, washing the shores of the thousand islands — the pict- 
uresque beauty of the bold promontories and hills that slope 
gracefully down to the water's edge, added to the healthy invig- 
orating climate, will always render this the most attractive 
portion of the great Mississippi Valley, and who will dare 
predict its development by generations yet unborn. 

Among other great changes jifty yearn has made on this 
part of the great river none are more marked than the build- 
ing of the canal at Keokuk has produced. 

Then, no point on the river above St. Louis exhibited half 
the life and business ai)pearance that Keokuk did, especially 
during the low water season. 

To see 40 or 50 fiat-boats or lighters engaged in receiving 
or discharging cargoes of merchandise or produce from steam- 
boats to be lighted across the rapids by the use of horses, was 
no unusual thing, involving the labor of a large numlier of 
men and horses, beside the crews of a dozen steamboats there 
waiting to discharge or receive the cargo that was l)eing lighted 
across the rapids for points above or below — presenting an 
animated scene unequaled at any interior point in the valley 
except the large cities. 

Now, the canal has changed all that and the steamboat, with 
her cargo unbroken, passes immediately to or from the canal, 
leaving Keokuk like a way station on a railroad, or a big town 
on the river, after the completion of a railroad bridge. But 
Keokuk anticipated the result, made hay while the sun shone, 
and is now largely independent of either steamboat or railroad. 

In nothing has fifty yearn made greater changes in the 
commerce of Western waters than the introduction of tow- 
boats and their uses. They are known under two classes, 
although used for the same purposes. 



744 Gould's history of kivek navigation. 

The tug-boat, with ji screw propeller, and the regular toio- 
boat, or stern-wheel boat, with the paddle wheel, neither o^ 
which was known or used Ji/ty years ago for the purpose to 
which they are now so largely devoted. 

"With the exception of towing ships to and from New 
Orleans, no tow-boats were used on these waters, and they 
were a powerful class of side-wheel boats built exclusively for 
that purpose. Now the nutnber of tow-boats is legion, and 
are seen every where. 

A far greater amount of capital is now invested in tow-boats 
than in freight and passenger boats. As high as $75,000 is 
sometimes invested in a single tow-boat. 

There are at the present time (1889) about eighty tow-boats 
owned and operated from Pittsburgh, some of them of the 
largest class. About an equal number is owned at other 
points on the Ohio River. 

There are about twenty owned at St. Louis employed on the 
Lower Mississippi, principally by the Mississippi Valley Barge 
Co. There are some 100 employed in the lumber trade on the 
Upper Mississippi. 

There is also a large number of tug-boats which are found 
to be very useful in handling all kinds of water craft in the 
harbors and for short jobs of towing every where. 

There has been nothing introduced within the Jifty years 
th;»t has contributed so much to the convenience and saving of 
labor as these little tugs. 

From past experience and present indications it seems 
reasonable to predict that foi- the next Jifty years the tow- 
boat will be the principal factor in river commerce, on all 
inland waters and in fact upon all waters. Coal, lumber, bulk 
gi'ain, ice and rock, which constitute nine-tenths of the present 
river traffic are all largely dependent upon this mode of trans- 
porlation and seem to defy competition. 

CHANGES ON THE MISSOURI. 

Fifty years have seen greater changes in the commerce and 
n:ivigation of the Missouri and Illinois Rivers than is percept- 
ible in the improvements upon their banks. As on the lower 
Mississippi, a few cities and towns have grown into promi- 
nence while by far the greater number have become obscure 
and almost forgotten. Less land is in cultivation on the 
biinks of both these streams than was the cRse Jifty years ago. 
While the commerce of the valleys has largely increased, that 
on the rivers has almost disappeared; although during the 



WILL RIVER IMPROVEMENT CONTINUE. 745 

half centurv, the surface of these riv^ers have floated millions 
of tons of produce to the markets of the world. 

The three millions of dollars the government has expended 
in u.-eless efforts to improve the navigation of the Missouri 
has not done so much to improve it as the railroad bridges 
have to damage it, and it is not probable ihixi fifty years more 
will restore to the river the amount of transportation it once 
enjoyed. It has required less than forty 3 ears to reduce the 
number of steamboats from sixty, at one time employed, to 
scarcely none at all at the present time. 

CHANGES ON THE ILLINOIS. 

Fifty years has reduced the trade on the Illinois, nearly in 
the same proportion, and while the commerce of both valleys 
is rapidly increasing there seems no reasonable expectation 
that water transportation will become a necessity for many 
years to come. 

CHANGES ON THE OHIO AND TRIBUTARIES. 

Fifty years has probably wrought less radical changes on 
the Ohio River and its tributaries than on the Mississippi. 

While there has been but little change in the products of 
the soil, the increase of manufacturers has been very large; 
and yet for thirty years water transportation has been largely 
superseded by rail, except in the article of coal. That industry 
has increased so rapidly it is difficult to determine whether the 
falling off of the one has been counterbalanced by the increase 
of the other. It has certainly resulted in important changes. 
It is now (1889) about thirty-iive years, since steam has been 
used in handling coal. Fifty years ago there was a very 
large number of steamboats and a larger number of flat or 
produce boats employed, but the business of steamboats did 
not reach the zenith of its prosperity until about 1858 or '9, 
and it culminated in 1861, when the war broke out. The 
^flbrts of the Government to improve the navigation has re- 
sulted favorably in most cases. 

The character of the bed of the river and the shores are such 
there is no doubt of entire success in a few years, if continued. 

If, in the meantime, illy-constructed bridges do not destroy 
the navigation, it seems probable that the rapid development 
of the valley will at no distant day even increase river trans- 
portation far beyond its present status ; although the time is 
probably forever past when the splendid lines of passenger 
boats that were once the pride and the glory of the great 
"West, will again be called into use. 



74G Gould's history of river navigation. 

The great danger is, that the railroad influence in national 
iegishition and the present depressed condition of river inter- 
ests, will result in withholding annual appropriations and de- 
stroying the interest in river imi)rovements that has pervaded 
the West for the last few years. Strange as it may appear, 
there has often appeared a»i inclination on the part of those 
most interested in river improvements, a disposition to criti- 
cise the manner and the principle upon which the engineers 
were doing their work, instead of recognizing the fact that the 
work was necessarily experimental often, and that if not suc- 
ccsssul the first time, it was at the expense of the Government 
and Avould be remedied later, with the valuable experience of 
the engineer, who is a ward of the Government, and educated 
at its expence. However unintentional these criticisms may 
be, they are not without their influence on the public mind^ 
which finds expression in Congress through our representa- 
tives. 

Much, very much, depends in the future upon the Govern- 
ment's action in improving the navigation of the waters of the 
Mississippi Valley. 

THE TRIBUTARY STREAMS. 

What has been said of the Mississippi, the Missouri, the 
Illinois, the Ohio, will apply generally to the principal navi- 
gable tributaries ; all seem in a transition state. Flflij years 
have served to develop their natural possibilities. Modern 
science and the progress of the age demand another step for- 
ward. Nature, always munificent in this great valley, requires 
the assistance of the mechanical genius of man to further de- 
velop the great natural highways of the valley so as to render 
them commensurate with the demands of its rapidly increasing 
commerce. If the Government is true to its great mission,. 
fifty years more will see the whole delta of the Mississippi 
and the bottom lands of its tributaries securely protected from 
overflow, wliicli loill result in maintaining a. depth of wnier in 
the channels of the rivers equal to the demands of the com- 
merce^ if not obstructed by artificial appliances erected by 
antagonistic interests. 

MISSISSIPri RIVER COMMISSION. 

While the Mississippi River Commission has made com- 
mendable progress in its experimental work on the Mississippi, 
since its creation, under the adverse circumstances and unfair 
criticisms with which it has had to contend, it has developed 
a system of improvements which, if followed up, will nndoubt- 



MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION. 747 

edly insure a ntage of water and the protection of the banks 
of the Mississippi commensurate with the demands of its com- 
merce for long years to come. 

In the fiftieth Congress a bill was introduced to create a 
Bureau of Harbors and Water Ways, which is to be known as 
the *' Corps of United States Civil Engineers." If this bill 
becomes a law, which there is no reasonable doubt of, it will 
place river and harbor improvements on a more secure found- 
ation, with a guarantee to the government against a useless 
expenditure of money on unimportant works, with the assur- 
ance that whatever is undertaken will l)e prosecuted with 
economy and with the advantage of the best skill andexpcri- 
ence known to modern engineering. 

It seems that the system contemplated by this bill, if 
adopted, will insure results in the Mississippi Valley which 
will give now life and iinportance to navigation. 



748 Gould's history of river navigation. 



CONCLUSION. 

Evidence of Progression. 

While the principal changes that have taken place in the 
[a.stjlft(/ years in this valley have been generally physical in 
character, the following anecdote from the Arkansas Traveler 
will fully prove that great moral and social progress has been 
made through the influence of emigration and contact with 
citizens from other parts of the world. No one who was 
familiar with the ignorance, lack of thrift and adaptability of 
the backwoodsman of the South in earlier years, but what 
Avill be surprised at the effect that even less ih^n fifty years 
has had upon the American citizen of African descent, as 
illustrated in this anecdote : 

[From the Arkansas Traveler.] 

A party of Eastern capitalists were riding along a lonely 
wood in a wild district of Alabama. Suddenly, upon turning 
in the road, they saw a woman wringing her hands. One of 
them ordered the driver to stop. 

'< What's the matter, my good woman?" some one called. 

" O, Lordy ! O, Lordy ! They have hung my poor hus- 
band!" Then, pointing, she showed the strangers the body 
of a man hanging from a tree. 

" O, Lordy! they come to our house an' tuk him out an' 
hung him jest because he told the deputy marshals when they 
axed him that the Phillips boys was a makin' uv whisky. O, 
I don't know what I'm going to do. Thar ain't nothin' in the 
house fur the children to eat, an' " here she broke down. 

" Let us cut him down." exclaimed one of the capitalists, 
springing out of the wagon. " Perhaps he is not dead," 

" O, yes, he is," the woman mourned. " They hung him 
this mawnin' about daylight and swore they'd shoot anybody 
that cut him down." 

The capitalists climbed back into the wagon. 

" My mother has gone airter a Justice uv the Peace," said 
the woman, "but I don't know what good he ken do. O, 
Lordy, what'll become uv my po' chillun. Gentlemen, ain't 
you got nothin' ter eat inyo' wagin. Ef you ain't got nothin, 
but a piece of bread, for the Lawd's sake let me have it." 

" Madam," said a man who seemed to be the leader of the 
party, " we brought a lunch with us, but unfortunately ate it 



WHO WILL DOUBT THE WORLD "DO MOVE." 749 

a few miles back ; but we will see that you tlo not suffer. 
Here, boys, I'll start the ball with $10. Chip in and help 
this poor woman." 

Pocket-books flew open. Each man contributed something, 
and the woman, with many tears of gratitude, accepted the 
contributions. The capitalists drove away, and' when their 
wagon was out of sight a lank man poked his head from be- 
hind a tree and said : 

" How's the haul, Lize?" 

" First rate," the woman replied. 

" Lemme see," he said, approaching her. "Bled like a 
stuck pig, didn't they?" he added, as he took the money. 
"Times is improvin' slow, but shure." 

" Sam, I hated to take this yere money. Them men 
'peared to be teched." 

" Oughter be teched ter see a pore man hangin' in the 
woods thiser way. Hate ter take the money ! W'y, it's my 
pension, gal. The Gover'ment oughter give a man a pension, 
no matter whut side he font on, an' ef the Gover'ment won't 
do it, w'y a man jest haster collect the best way he ken. 
Reckon we'd better take down the gentleman," nodding at 
the figure that hung from the tree, " an' move him away. O, 
I tell you a pa'r uv ole boots, some ole clothes, an' a little 
wheat straw pans out putty well sometimes." 

" Sam, I still think we oughn't ter tuk it." 

" W'y, gal, don't yer know they feel jest ez good ez ef that 
thing hangin' thar wuz me, an' I know that I am better off, so 
the thing has turned out all right. Ef they wuz so teched 
they mout be glad to know that yore po' husband ain't dead. 
It don't make no diffunce ter a man's feelin's whether he has 
done good ur not, jes so he think's he has. They think 
they've done good, an' we know we have. My daddy uster 
say so, an' I'm beginnin' to b'leeve it, that this here thing uv 
enterprise mighty nigh alius wins." 



CORRECTIONS. 

Page 242. — Tenth line from bottom ; read none of the engines Instead of all. 

Page 339. — Tenth line from top ; read Island 37, not 32. 

Page 369. — Third line from bottom ; read Louisville canal, not Louisiana canal. 

Page 405. — Fifteenth line from top ; read Boutwell, not Boutell. 

Same page. — Third line from bottom ; read T. J. Whiting and T. J. Stockdale, not T. G. 

Also sixteenth line from bottom; 18S7, not 1SS2. 

Page 517. — Tenth line from top , read Darins Hunkins, not David Hawkins. 

Page fJ52. — Ninth line from bottom , read barques, not barges. 

Page 742. — Fourth line from bottom; spell emploijs with &p. 



ADDITIONS TO THE PREFACE. 

New Orleans Picayune, Memphis Appeal, De Bow's Review. 






LEJl'25 



